Archived: Westfield Medical Centre

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Westfield Medical Centre on 14 October 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good for providing safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led care for all of the population groups it serves.

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

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system was in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• The practice held a register of the 2% of patients who were vulnerable or housebound and at risk of an unplanned hospital admission. These patients were given same day appointments when contacting the practice and longer appointment times were allocated.
• The practice were in the process of signing up to the Year of Care Initiative. This initiative was aimed at encouraging patients with long term conditions to understand their condition and select their own personal health and lifestyle targets.
• The practice had a process in place to follow up patients who had attended accident and emergency (A&E) and those patients who had unplanned hospital admission.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and were involved in care and decisions about their treatment.
• Patients were positive about access to the service. They said they found it easy to make an appointment, there was continuity of care and urgent appointments were available on the same day as requested.
• Patients registered with the practice had access to a heath trainer. Health trainers help their clients to assess their lifestyles and wellbeing, set goals for improving their health, agree action-plans, and provide practical support and information that will help people to change their behaviour.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff were supported by management.
• The practice held two weekly clinical meetings to ensure information was communicated .
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.

We saw areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice had identified diabetes as a priority area and worked with the locality to deliver dedicated specialist community nursing time into the practice.

• The practice had information displayed in Eastern European languages due to the increasing numbers of Eastern European patients registering with the practice.

.

However, there were two areas of practice where the provider should make improvements:

• Complete care planning templates in all cases following mental health reviews.
• Establish a system of hard wiring vaccination fridges as recommended by Public Health England.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice