Fosse Medical Centre

On this page

• Overview
• Learning culture
• Safe systems, pathways and transitions
• Safeguarding
• Involving people to manage risks
• Safe environments
• Safe and effective staffing
• Infection prevention and control
• Medicines optimisation

The practice had a good learning culture and people could raise concerns. Managers investigated incidents thoroughly. People were protected and kept safe. Staff understood and managed risks. The facilities and equipment met the needs of people, were clean and well-maintained and any risks mitigated. There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience. Managers made sure staff received training and regular appraisals to maintain high-quality care. Staff managed medicines well and involved people in planning any changes.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The practice had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. They listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice.

People felt supported to raise concerns and felt staff treated them with compassion and understanding. Representatives from the Patient Participation Group (PPG) felt the provider took concerns seriously and proactively made improvements to the practice. Managers encouraged staff to raise concerns when things went wrong. During staff meetings, the whole team discussed and learnt from clinical issues. Staff felt there was an open culture, and that safety was a top priority. The provider had processes for staff to report incidents, near misses and safety events. There was a system to record and investigate complaints, and when things went wrong, staff apologised and gave people support. Learning from incidents and complaints resulted in changes that improved care for others.

he practice worked with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care, in which safety was managed or monitored. They made sure there was continuity of care, including when people moved between different services.

There were systems in place for processing information relating to new patients. The practice worked with other providers to deliver shared care and when patients moved between services. Referrals and test results were managed in a timely way.

The practice worked with people and healthcare partners to understand what being safe meant to them and the best way to achieve that. They concentrated on improving people’s lives while protecting their right to live in safety, free from bullying, harassment, abuse, discrimination, avoidable harm and neglect. The practice shared concerns quickly and appropriately.

Safeguarding policies were in place and known to staff, who were appropriately trained in safeguarding procedures. The practice maintained a list of vulnerable people and acted on concerns working in partnership with other organisations. Due to staff turnover, the practice were without an administrative lead for safeguarding, they have a GP lead in place. However, we found no concerns and the practice were in the process of recruiting and appointing a new administrative lead. Staff were knowledgeable and took appropriate action when required.

The practice worked with people to understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. They provided care to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them.

Emergency equipment was available and maintained. Staff could recognise a deteriorating patient and knew of actions to take. Patients were advised on risks related to their condition and actions to take if their condition deteriorated.

The practice detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care.

Contracts were in place to ensure the premises were maintained. Health and safety risk assessments and audits had been undertaken and risks identified had been addressed, such as a fire blanket present in the staff kitchen and a new fire door installed. There was a business continuity plan in place which was monitored and reviewed.

The practice made sure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff, who received effective support, supervision and development. They worked together well to provide safe care that met people’s individual needs.

There were a range of clinical and non-clinical roles within the practice. We found training was up to date, learning needs and development of staff was managed appropriately, and staff were working within their agreed areas of competence. Safe recruitment practices were followed. We found that staff were offered an additional appraisal when undertaking courses, alongside supervision this gave the staff extra support and guidance whilst the provider maintained effective oversight.

The practice assessed and managed the risk of infection. They detected and controlled the risk of it spreading and shared concerns with appropriate agencies promptly.

The practice had a designated infection, prevention and control lead and all staff had had relevant training. Risk assessments and audits were completed, and actions taken to mitigate risks. Cleaning schedules were in place and followed but lacked some details. The provider was responsive on inspection and updated external cleaning logs to better detail the work carried out. On inspection we found in one clinical room the floor to wall sealant had detached, the practice provided evidence of emails sent to the maintenance team to address the risk.

The practice made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. They involved people in planning, including when changes happened. We ran a suite of clinical searches on the practice system and found that people were kept safe when prescribed medication that required monitoring.

Staff involved people in reviews of their medicines and helped them understand how to manage their medicines safely. People knew what to do and who to contact if their condition did not improve or if they experienced any unexpected symptoms. Staff received regular training, were competency assessed on medicines optimisation, and felt confident managing the storage, administration and recording of medicines. Staff managed prescription stationery appropriately and securely. Staff followed protocols to ensure they prescribed all medicines safely, and ensured people received all recommended medicines reviews and monitoring. Staff regularly checked the stock levels and expiry dates for all medicines, including emergency medicines and vaccines. We found the practice did not store Glucagon but there was an appropriate discussion amongst the clinical team which documented alternatives and risks. On inspection we found some expired sundries, however the practice took immediate action and removed these and replaced accordingly. The provider had effective systems to manage and respond to safety alerts and medicine recalls. Staff took steps to ensure they prescribed medicines appropriately to optimise care outcomes, including antibiotics. There was a programme of regular clinical audits of prescribing that focused on improving care and treatment.