Archived: Westminster Surgery

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Westminster Surgery Centre on 25 April 2017.

Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• There were systems in place to reduce risks to patient safety, for example, equipment checks were carried out, there were systems to control infection and keep the premises clean.

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. Staff were aware of procedures for safeguarding patients from the risk of abuse.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.

• Staff felt supported. They had access to training and development opportunities and had received training appropriate to their roles.

• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect. We saw staff treated patients with kindness and respect.

• Services were planned and delivered to take into account the needs of different patient groups.

• Access to the service was monitored to ensure it met the needs of patients.

• There was a system in place to manage complaints.

• There were systems in place to monitor and improve quality and identify risk.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Provide clear guidance to staff concerning the body to contact for advice about possible safeguarding concerns and ensure all requests for information for safeguarding meetings and the response are placed on patients’ records.

• The health and safety risk assessment specific to the practice should contain more detail about possible risks and how they are to be mitigated.

• In-house tests of the fire alarm and emergency lighting should consistently take place at the recommended frequencies.

• A planned programme of audits should be put in place.

• The salaried GP should have an in-house appraisal in addition to the external appraisal process.
• The plans in place for improving the patient recall systems to ensure patients are recalled for monitoring long-term conditions and routine screening for cancer should be periodically reviewed to ensure they are effective.
• A record should be maintained of all clinical training provided to assist with monitoring training needs.

• Information about how patients can make a complaint should be more easily accessible on the provider’s website. The procedure should include the contact details of who complaints should be directed to at the practice and a record should be made of the date responses were made to complainants.

• The systems for gathering patient feedback should be reviewed to ensure that this information is routinely sought.

• The website should contain information to describe the services offered for patients such as the staff available, clinics and it should provide health promotion information.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice