The Care Quality Commission
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  • GP practice

Archived: Dr D. Pal & Dr M. Pal

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Golborne Health Centre, Kidglove Road, Golborne, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 3GS (01942) 481620

Provided and run by:
Dr Dharam Pal and Dr Madhu Pal

Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile

All Inspections

4 September 2019

During an annual regulatory review

We reviewed the information available to us about Dr D. Pal & Dr M. Pal on 4 September 2019. We did not find evidence of significant changes to the quality of service being provided since the last inspection. As a result, we decided not to inspect the surgery at this time. We will continue to monitor this information about this service throughout the year and may inspect the surgery when we see evidence of potential changes.

8 Jan to 8 Jan 19

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr D. Pal & Dr M. Pal on 8 January 2019 as part of our inspection programme.

At the last inspection in May 2018 we rated the practice as good for the key questions effective, caring and responsive; and requires improvement for safe and well led. The overall rating was requires improvement. This was because:

  • The practice did not ensure care and treatment was provided in a safe way to patients.
  • There were not effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

At this inspection, we found that the provider had satisfactorily addressed these areas.

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

  • what we found when we inspected both the main and branch surgery
  • information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
  • information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have now rated this practice as good overall and good for all population groups.

We found that:

  • The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
  • Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
  • Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
  • The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
  • The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice

22/05/2018 to 22/05/2018

During a routine inspection

This practice is rated as Requires Improvement overall. (Previous inspection Feb 2016 – Good)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Requires Improvement

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Requires Improvement

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr D. Pal & Dr M. Pal on 22 May 2018 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. The inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

At this inspection we found:

  • There was evidence of learning and improvement when things went wrong, but the system for this was not clear or consistent.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Governance processes and systems for business planning, risk management, performance and quality were not clear or inconsistent. These need to be embedded to ensure they operated effectively.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

  • Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients.
  • Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

  • Provide information and make all staff aware of the Accessible Information Standard (a requirement to make sure that patients and their carers can access and understand the information that they are given.)
  • The practice should take steps to increase awareness of medical emergencies across the clinical team.
  • The practice should review the emergency medicines kept on both sites and for home visits in accordance with good practice guidelines.
  • Introduce a procedure to follow up on prescriptions that had been requested by patients but not collected from the practice.
  • Introduce easy read materials for those patients that may need them.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice

16 February 2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr D Pal & Dr M Pal on 16 February 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

  • There was an open and transparent approach to safety and a system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
  • Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
  • Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
  • Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with GP with urgent appointments available the same day.
  • The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
  • There was a leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
  • The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

  • The practice worked with the community link worker (CLW). The CLW took referrals for patients who need extra help, but not necessarily medical help.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

  • Ensure that records are kept of clinical updates and information passed to locum GPs.
  • Ensure that information on the training of locum GPs is recorded and regularly reviewed.
  • Provide the prescribing nurse with a local formulary to support their service delivery.
  • Regularly review policies and procedures.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice