- GP practice
OHP-Woodgate Valley Health Centre
Report from 7 March 2024 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
OHP – Woodgate Valley Health Centre is a NHS GP practice which provides primary care services to patients in Birmingham. The practice is rated as good overall, with all key questions rated as good. We carried out an announced assessment of one quality statement, equity of access, under the key question Responsive at OHP - Woodgate Valley Health Centre on the 7 March 2024. We carried out the assessment as part of our work to understand how practices are working to try to meet peoples demands for access and to better understand the experiences of people who use services and providers. We recognise the work that GP practices have been engaged in to continue to provide safe, quality care to the people they serve. We know staff are carrying this out whilst the demand for general practice remains exceptionally high, with more appointments being provided than ever. However, within this challenging context, access to general practice remains a concern for people. Our strategy makes a commitment to deliver regulation driven by people’s needs and experiences of care. The assessment of the quality statement equity of access includes looking at what practices are doing innovatively to improve patient access to primary care and sharing this information to drive improvement. We found that the practice had organised services to meet patients’ needs, particularly those who were most likely to have difficulty accessing care. The practice used feedback and other information to monitor and improve access. The practice had taken action to improve access, and was an early implementer of a new online total triage system to improve and support more equitable access. This had only recently been implemented and the impact of which had not yet been reflected in the GP patient survey data or in other sources of patient feedback.
People's experience of this service
In the 2023 National GP Patient Survey, the practice’s data for access was mixed. Patient satisfaction with getting through to the practice by phone and satisfaction with the appointment times was above the national average. While satisfaction with the appointments offered and overall experience of making an appointment were in line with national averages. Trends in patient satisfaction had generally been above national averages during the last five years but there had been a decline in the most recent year. Patient feedback gathered by the practice was positive. This included initial feedback obtained after implementing the new triage system and from the Friends and Family Test where overall, comments made about access were positive. We also received feedback from 2 patients who were positive about the service. We recognise the pressure that practices are currently working under, and the efforts staff are making to maintain levels of access for their patients. At the same time, our strategy makes a commitment to deliver regulation driven by people’s needs and experiences of care. Although we saw the practice was attempting to improve access, changes implemented were not yet consistently reflected in the GP patient survey data or other sources of patient feedback.