The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found significant improvements at Harris Memorial Surgery in Redruth, and upgraded their overall rating from inadequate to good following an inspection in January. The surgery has also been removed from special measures.
Harris Memorial Surgery is run by an organisation of the same name and provides services to around 6300 people in Cornwall.
This inspection was carried out to follow up on improvements the service was told to make following their previous inspection when CQC found three breaches of regulations around safe care and treatment, effective systems and processes, and safe recruitment practices. This latest inspection found the practice is no longer in breach of any regulations.
As well as the service’s overall rating improving from inadequate to good, so has how well-led the service is. The practice’s ratings for how effective and responsive they are, have also improved from requires improvement to good. The practice has again been rated as good for caring.
Cath Campbell, CQC’s Deputy Director of Operations in Gloucestershire said:
Our experience tells us when a service isn’t well-led it’s unlikely they are able to provide good care, which is what we found the last time we inspected Harris Memorial Surgery. However, at this most recent inspection, we found a significant improvement in leadership which was behind a lot of the changes we saw meaning people are now receiving safe and effective care.
One of the things that stood out, were process improvements that had been implemented to keep people safe. For example, staff now had a clear process for prioritising people with the most urgent needs. Leaders had also implemented systems to assess, monitor and manage other risks to people’s safety.
It was also good to see that staff now involved people in planning their own care. People consistently told us they felt listened to and were involved in decisions that affected them. One person shared how they’d been supported through a complex diagnosis, with staff making sure they understood all their options and told us they felt truly cared for throughout the process.
Leaders were also much more focused on external collaboration and had started working well with other agencies involved in people's care to ensure good outcomes. This was particularly effective when planning transitions between services.
However, there were some areas that still needed improvement, including around documentation. Leaders were aware of these issues and had begun to address them.
The staff and leaders at Harris Memorial Surgery should be proud of the hard work they’ve put in and the improvements they’ve made to people’s care. We’ll continue to monitor the service to ensure these improvements are sustained long term.
Inspectors found:
- Staff consistently involved people in assessing their needs. They also ensured people understood their care and treatment options, enabling them to give informed consent.
- Feedback from people using the service was consistently positive.
- Leaders had developed a clear vision and strategy to deliver high-quality care. Staff understood their individual responsibilities and knew who was accountable for each aspect of the service.
- There was an active patient participation group representing the views of people using the service. The practice had made positive changes following feedback, such as improvements to the information shared with people on the digital screen in the practice’s reception area.
- The leadership team had established a positive culture based on listening, learning and trust. Staff told inspectors that leaders were visible, approachable and genuinely cared about them, which had translated into better experiences for people using the service.
However:
- There was a backlog of 333 new patient records waiting to be summarised, but the service was aware of this and had taken action to address it.
- CQC identified gaps in the required monitoring of people on certain medicines. When made aware, the practice addressed this and implemented systems to prevent it from happening again.
The report will be published on CQC’s website in the coming days.