Archived: Victoria Mill Medical Practice

Updated 19 May 2016

Victoria Mill Medical Practice is located close to Manchester city centre. The practice is located within a converted mill with all services to patients located on the ground floor. There is disabled access and parking available to patients. The practice share the reception area with NHS community services that were also located in the building.

At the time of our inspection there were 2425 patients registered with the practice. The practice is overseen by North Manchester Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). The practice delivers commissioned services under the Alternative Primary Medical Services (APMS) contract. The APMS contract is the contract between general practices and NHS England for delivering primary care services to local communities.

The area is very deprived and the practice was taken over by Beacon Medical group in June 2014. The practice has implemented multiple changes and policies since taking over the contract.

Nearly half of the practice population is aged between 15- 44 years and half of all patients are of black and minority ethnic group of 51.1 %.

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

The practice is open from 8am until 6pm Monday to Friday, closing for lunch between 12.30 – 1.30 pm daily. Appointments times are between 9am and 5.30pm.

Patients requiring a GP outside of normal working hours are advised to call ‘Go to Doc’ between 6pm to 6.30pm and NHS 111  6.30pm – 8am. There is a message on the usual surgery number to advise patients of this

The surgery is part of Prime Ministers GP Access scheme offering extended hours and weekend appointments to patients.

This practice is part of wider support group. This group is made up of seven practices across Greater Manchester. The group’s main aim is to offer a peer support by learning and sharing for both clinical and non-clinical staff. This is done by holding regular forums where they discussed:

• Human Resources (HR)
• Incident and Significant event sharing
• Governance issues
• Training and development

Updated 19 May 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Victoria Mill Medical Practice 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.
• 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.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 19 May 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.
• 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 19 May 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.
• 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 19 May 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 participated in meetings with other healthcare professionals and social services to discuss any concerns.

Updated 19 May 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.

Updated 19 May 2016

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

• 100% of patients diagnosed with dementia had their care reviewed in a face to face meeting in the last 12 months, which was below to the national below the national average of 84%.
• 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 had told patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.
• Staff had a good understanding of how to support patients with mental health needs and dementia.

Updated 19 May 2016

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

• There was a local bail hostel and patients residing there could register at the practice. This was usually a handful of patients.
• The practice held a register of patients living in vulnerable circumstances including homeless people, travellers and those with a learning disability.
• The practice regularly worked with other health care professionals in the case management of vulnerable patients.
• 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.