Gloucestershire GP service still needs improvement
It's after the out of hours service was inspected in November 2022
A report has been released by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which shows that Gloucestershire Out of Hours service still requires improvement.
It's after they were inspected in November 2022.
The service provides care to 637,000 people in Gloucestershire when their usual GP practice is closed. It is run by Practice Plus Group Urgent Care Limited.
This inspection was undertaken to check whether the service had made improvements following its previous rating of requires improvement last year. It has been rated requires improvement at the last three inspections it has had since 2018.
Inspectors found:
• Improvements had been made to how staff review and report significant events and complaints, but further development and embedding were required.
• Leaders hadn’t ensured all staff completed mandatory training. Although action had been taken since CQC’s last inspection to complete sepsis training.
• Inconsistent management of rotas continued to contribute to delays in people’s care and treatment.
• Risks to staff and people weren’t always aligned with policy and guidance.
• Risk assessments and actions plans weren’t always completed in a timely manner
• There was mixed feedback regarding senior leaders. Staff reported not always feeling heard or consulted.
But, the CQC say that staff were treated with respect, improvements had been made with audits, care and treatment was being delivered in a way which considered the needs of patients, and staff could always access people's data, including previous visits to the service.
Neil Cox, CQC’s deputy director of operations in the south, says, "Gloucestershire Out of Hours has made some improvements since our previous inspection, including how it reviewed significant incidents and complaints. However, we were still concerned with aspects of the leadership and the lack of effective processes to keep people safe.
“Due to a lack of consistent monitoring from the service’s leaders, we found people experienced delays when using the service because of how staff were scheduled to work. There was also a lack of consistent monitoring to ensure that staff had completed mandatory training to provide quality care and treatment to people.
“However, we saw staff treat people with kindness and compassion, especially those receiving end-of-life care. Staff also helped people understand their conditions and involved them in decisions about their care."
You can read the full report from the CQC here.