Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
This practice is rated as Good overall. (The practice was rated good at our previous inspection 10 October 2014)
The key questions are rated as:
Are services safe? – Good
Are services effective? – Good
Are services caring? – Good
Are services responsive? – Good
Are services well-led? - Good
As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:
Older People – Good
People with long-term conditions – Good
Families, children and young people – Good
Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good
People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good
People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Darlaston Family Practice on 1 November 2017. We carried out this inspection as part of our inspection programme.
At this inspection we found:
- The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes. The practice had reviewed correspondence from NHS England alerting all practices about the death of a child with sickle cell disease who died from sepsis, and identified learning points.
- We found a number of issues relating to monitoring of prescriptions, emergency medicines and oxygen. The practice rectified these issues during the inspection.
- The practice provided a holistic approach to assessing, planning and delivering care and treatment to patients. Patients with multiple long-term conditions were offered one annual review. The practice co-ordinated medicine reviews with the annual review of long term conditions. The practice maintained a register of housebound patients and carried out domiciliary visits for long-term reviews and ‘flu vaccinations.
- The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
- The practice had introduced additional checks for patients with high blood pressure and carried out electrocardiograms (ECG a test to check the heart’s rhythm and electrical activity) every two years to identify potential heart problems.
- Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
- Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
- There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation. The practice had participated in locally commissioned services, for example: bowel screening pilot and diabetes prevention programme. The practice nurse had trained to become a mentor for student nurses and the practice was awaiting accreditation to become a placement for student nurses.
- The practice was part of the Clinical Research Network and had participated in 11 research trials during the past two years.
- The GP partners were actively involved in the education and assessment of medical students and GP registrars. One partner was also involved in appraisals for GPs. One of the partners was the training programme director for the local deanery and lectured at the local university.
The areas where the provider should make improvements are:
- Complete a risk assessment to reflect guidance from The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) in relation to the storage or spillage of mercury.
- Share and discuss all significant events with the staff team to promote shared learning.
- Take a more proactive approach to identifying carers.
- Include details of how to escalate complaints in the response letter sent to complainants.
Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)
Chief Inspector of General Practice