15 Sefton Rd

Updated 22 March 2017

Drs Mcelroy & Thompson Surgery is based in Litherland, Merseyside. There were 4750 patients on the practice register at the time of our inspection. The practice is in a deprived area with high unemployment and chronic disease prevalence.

The practice is managed by two GP partners (one male, one female) and there is also a salaried GP. There is one practice nurse and a healthcare assistant. Members of clinical staff are supported by a practice manager, reception and administration staff.

The practice is open 8am to 6.30pm every weekday and offers pre bookable appointments on Monday mornings with the nurse from 7am. Patients requiring a GP outside of normal working hours are advised to contact the GP out of hours service by calling 111.

The practice has a General Medical Services (GMS) contract and has enhanced services contracts which include childhood vaccinations. The practice is part of NHS South Sefton CCG.

Updated 22 March 2017

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We previously carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Drs Mcelroy &Thompson Surgery on 19 October 2016. The overall rating for the practice was good but required improvement in providing safe services. The full comprehensive report on the 19 October 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Drs Mcelroy &Thompson Surgery

on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This inspection was an announced focused inspection carried out on 10 March 2017 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches in regulations that we identified in our previous inspection on 19 October 2016. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and also additional improvements made since our last inspection.

Overall the practice is now rated as good and good for providing safe services.

Our key findings were as follows:

• The practice had addressed the issues identified during the previous inspection.
• There were improvements in compliance with fire safety and health and safety. For example, action had been taken following a fixed electrical wiring safety risk assessment.

In addition, the practice had made the following improvements:

• There was a system to monitor the storage and use of blank prescription pads used for home visits.

• The practice had completed where practical actions identified in the external infection control audit from April 2016 and work was in progress for the scheduling and monitoring of the cleaning of the premises.
• The practice was aware that documents relating to staff recruitment were to be retained.
• There was a system to ensure all materials in the first aid kit were not kept beyond the expiry date.
• The practice policy and patient information leaflet had been updated and included the correct details of who the patient should complain to if they were dissatisfied with the practice’s response to their complaint.
• The practice was aware they needed to treat verbal complaints in the same way as written complaints but had not received any since our last inspection.
• The practice was exploring having a Patient Participation Group (PPG).

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 23 November 2016

The practice is rated as good for providing services for people with long term conditions.  The practice had registers in place for several long term conditions including diabetes and asthma. Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed. All these patients had a structured annual review to check their health and medicines needs were being met. For those patients with the most complex needs, the GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care. 

Updated 23 November 2016

The practice is rated as good for providing services for families, children and young people. The practice regularly liaised with health visitors to review vulnerable children and new mothers. 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. The practice carried out childhood immunisations and performance rates were comparable with the local CCG averages.

Updated 23 November 2016

The practice is rated as good for providing services for older people. The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population and offered home visits and care home visits. The practice participated in meetings with other healthcare professionals to discuss any concerns. There was a named GP for the over 75s and the practice were planning to participate in a local ‘frailty’ scheme to ensure patients received a full assessment of their health and social needs.    

Updated 23 November 2016

The practice is as rated good for providing services for working age people. The needs of this population group had been identified and the practice had adjusted the services it offered to ensure these were accessible. There were online systems available to allow patients to make appointments. The practice offered pre bookable appointments on Monday mornings with the nurse from 7am. The practice also offered Saturday morning flu vaccination clinics.

Updated 23 November 2016

The practice is rated as good for providing services for people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia). Patients experiencing poor mental health received an invitation for an annual physical health check. Those that did not attend had alerts placed on their records so they could be reviewed opportunistically. Staff had received dementia awareness training and patients with dementia were contacted on the day to remind them they had an appointment.

Updated 23 November 2016

The practice is rated as good for providing services for people whose circumstances make them vulnerable. The practice however did not place alerts on records for patients with a learning disability but staff knew their patients well in order to identify their needs. The practice agreed to change this in case any new staff had to assist these patients. It had carried out annual health checks and longer appointments were available for people with a learning disability.