Archived: Whitechapel Health Centre

Updated 17 November 2016

Whitechapel Health Centre is located in a building conversion in East London within a residential area. The practice is a part of Tower Hamlets Clinical Commissioning Group and is managed by AT Medics, who took over the management of the practice in September 2014.

There are 8867 patients registered at the practice 85% of which are of Bengali origin.

The practice has one male and one female salaried GPs, three regular locum GPs carrying out 27 sessions per week and a male physicians associate carrying out six sessions per week. There are two female practice nurses carrying out 10 sessions per week, a female nurse practitioner carrying out eight sessions per week and a health care assistant completing eight sessions per week. The practice also has a phlebotomist carrying out five sessions per week. There are two management team members and eight reception/administration staff members.

The practice operates under a Personal Medical Service Contract (PMS) (a locally agreed alternative to the standard GMS contract used when services are agreed locally with a practice which may include additional services beyond the standard contract).

The practice is open Monday to Thursday 8:00am to 8:00pm and Friday 8:00am to 6:30pm, the phone lines are open from 8:00am. Appointment times are as follows:

• Monday 8:30am to 7:30pm

• Tuesday 8:00am to 1:20pm and 2:10pm to 7:30pm

• Wednesday 8:00am to 12:30pm and 1:10pm to 7:30pm

• Thursday 8:15am to 1:20pm and 1:30pm to 7:30pm

• Friday 8:00am to 12:15pm and 1:10pm to 5:30pm

• Saturday 9:00am to 1:00pm

The out of hours provider covers calls made whilst the practice is closed.

Whitechapel Health Centre operates regulated activities from one location and is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide surgical procedures, maternity and midwifery services, treatment of disease, disorder and injury and screening procedures.

Updated 17 November 2016

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Whitechapel Health Centre on 19 April 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.
• The practice had a 0% exception reporting rate.
• The practice had an in-house Bengali translator that managed the recall system and translated for the patient participation group.
• 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 in different languages 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.
• To engage hard to reach patients on the topic of mental health, the practice worked with a charity to produce a video to tackle the issues, this video was shared with 50 practices, translated into three different languages and is used as a training tool by seven NHS trusts.

We saw an area of outstanding practice

• Due to the practice having a low proportion of patients completing bowel screening tests, reception staff were trained to use bowel screening kits and the practice produced a video in Bengali, which was shared with other practices in the borough of Tower Hamlets with a high population of Bengali speaking patients that explained how to use the kits and the reason behind the testing. This video was played in the waiting area and a link to the video was on the practice website. Reception staff would phone all patients who had not completed the bowel screening and spoke them through the process as well as explaining the importance of the test.

The area the practice should make improvement is:

• Work to improve the GP patient satisfaction scores.

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 17 November 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.

• Patients received a telephone reminder of their nurse appointment on the morning of their appointment.

• Recall was carried out by an interpreter to ensure that patients understood the importance of their appointments.

• The percentage of patients on the diabetes register with a record of a foot examination and risk classification in the preceding 12 months was 96% compared with a national average of 88%.

• 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 17 November 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.

• 83% of women aged 25 to 64 had a record of a cervical screening test documented in their record in the preceding five years compared to 82% nationally.

• 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 17 November 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 people in its population.

• The practice was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs.

• The practice was a part of the Everyone Counts Scheme, which focuses on patients aged over 75 years old.

Updated 17 November 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 four days a week and was open on a Saturday for patients who were unable to attend the practice during normal working hours.

Updated 17 November 2016

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

• 89% of patients diagnosed with dementia who had their care reviewed in a face to face meeting in the last 12 months, which is comparable to the national average of 84%.

• The percentage of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and other psychosis who have a comprehensive agreed care plan documented in the record was 84% compared to a national average of 88%.

• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of patients experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia.

• The practice carried out advance care planning for patients with dementia.

• The practice told patients experiencing poor mental health how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.

• The practice worked with a local charity to make a video advising patients of mental health issues, which was translated into other languages and shared with other practices and NHS trusts.

• 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 dementia.

• Patients received a telephone reminder of their appointment on the morning that they were due to be seen.

Updated 17 November 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 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.