Archived: The Grove House Surgery

Updated 7 July 2016

The Grove House Surgery is located in purpose built premises at 102 Albert Street, Ventnor, Isle of Wight, PO38 1EU.

The Grove House Surgery has an NHS General Medical Services contract to provide health services to approximately 4000 patients in and around Ventnor, and the surrounding area. The practice covers a mixed urban rural population and has a higher than national average number of males and females aged 55 years and over. Older patients account for the largest group of registered patients at the practice. The practice is placed in the fourth, out of ten least deprived level of deprivation.

The practice has a total of 50 patients resident in care homes which is 1.4% of the practice population and three times the national average. The practice also has a number of younger patients who attend a local residential special school for students who have speech, language and communication needs. .

The practice has three GPs, one male and two female. At the time of our inspection, the practice also had a female doctor training to be a GP at the practice. The practice has two practice nurses and one healthcare assistant.

The clinical team are supported by a practice manager, an office manager and a team of nine receptionists and administration support staff.

The practice is open Monday to Friday 8am to 6:30pm. Phone lines are open from 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays). Surgery times are Monday to Friday 9am to 11am and 4pm to 6pm. Extended surgery hours are provided alternate Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6.40pm to 8pm.

There are consulting and treatment rooms on the ground floor.

Same day appointments can be booked at any time from 8am on the day patients need the appointment for. Routine appointments could be booked up to four weeks in advance. Appointments could be made by phone, on line or by visiting the practice. The practice offered online booking for appointments and requesting prescriptions.

The practice offered telephone consultation appointments with a GP which could be arranged via the reception team. The practice also offered home visits if required and appointments with the practice nurses if the patient felt they did not need to speak with a GP.

The practice has opted out of providing out-of-hours services to their own patients and refers them to the Out of Hours service via the NHS 111 service.

Updated 7 July 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Grove House Surgery on 11 May 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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 in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• The practice should review the accessibility of emergency medicines as these were not separated from the day to day stocks and may take time to find in an emergency.

• Some of the practice policies should be reviewed to ensure that they are still up to date, for example the safeguarding and health and safety policies.
• All patients with long term conditions should have the reviews they require to monitor and improve their health.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 7 July 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with long-term conditions.

• Nursing staff had lead roles in chronic disease management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority.
• The practice showed that 100% of patients with diabetes, on the register, had an influenza immunisation in the preceding 01/04/2014 to 31/03/2015. This comparable to the clinical commissioning group average of 96% and a national average of 95%.
• Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed.
• All these patients had a named GP and a structured annual review to check their health and medicines needs were being met. For those patients with the most complex needs, the named GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

Updated 7 July 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of families, children and young people.

• There were systems in place to identify and follow up children living in disadvantaged circumstances and who were at risk, for example, children and young people who had a high number of A&E attendances. Immunisation rates were relatively high for all standard childhood immunisations.
• Patients told us that children and young people were treated in an age-appropriate way and were recognised as individuals, and we saw evidence to confirm this.
• The percentage of women aged 25-64 whose notes record that a cervical screening test had been performed in the preceding 5 years was 87% compared to a clinical commissioning group average of 82% and England average of 82%.
• Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies.
• We saw positive examples of joint working with midwives, health visitors and school nurses.

Updated 7 July 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people.

• The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older patients in its population.
• The practice was responsive to the needs of older patients, and offered home visits and urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs.
• The practice has a total of 50 patients resident in care homes which is 1.4% of the practice population and three times the national average.

Updated 7 July 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of working-age people (including those recently retired and students).

• The needs of the working age population, those recently retired and students had been identified and the practice had adjusted the services it offered to ensure these were accessible, flexible and offered continuity of care.
• The practice was proactive in offering online services as well as a full range of health promotion and screening that reflects the needs for this age group.
• The practice offered extended hours on a Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evening until 8pm for patients who could not attend during normal opening hours.
• Appointments could be made by phone, on line or by visiting the practice. The practice offered online booking for appointments and requesting prescriptions.

Updated 7 July 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people living with dementia).

• 99% of patients diagnosed with dementia had their care reviewed in a face to face meeting in the last 12 months, which is above the national average at 85%.
• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of patients experiencing poor mental health, including those living with dementia.
• The practice carried out advance care planning for patients living with dementia.
• The practice had told patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.
• The practice had a system in place to follow up patients who had attended accident and emergency where they may have been experiencing poor mental health.
• Staff had a good understanding of how to support patients with mental health needs and those living with dementia.

Updated 7 July 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.

• The practice held a register of patients living in vulnerable circumstances including homeless patients, travellers and those with a learning disability.
• The practice offered longer appointments for patients with a learning disability.
• The practice regularly worked with other health care professionals in the case management of vulnerable patients.
• The practice informed vulnerable patients about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.
• Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse in vulnerable adults and children. Staff were aware of their responsibilities regarding information sharing, documentation of safeguarding concerns and how to contact relevant agencies in normal working hours and out of hours.