Wood Street Health Centre

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

We carried out an announced assessment of one quality statement, equity of access, under the key question Responsive and found: Feedback from the 2021 to 2023 GP survey regarding patients’ ability to access appointments had a consistent negative variation compared to the national average. The practice had reviewed the feedback and taken recent action to improve. The practice identified and allocated resources as required to improve inequalities and support equity of access. The leaders understood the challenges to and monitored patient access and responded to patient needs. No breaches of regulation were identified.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We did not look at Person-centred Care during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We did not look at Care provision, Integration and continuity during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We did not look at Providing Information during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We did not look at Listening to and involving people during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

between 1 January and 31 March. This reviewed patients’ responses to how easy it was to get through to someone at their GP practice on the phone, the overall experience of making an appointment and the appointment type and times. This demonstrated the patient feedback results from 2021 to 2023 were below the national average. The practice had reviewed the feedback and taken recent action to improve. The provider submitted their friends and family feedback from recent data which demonstrated out of 31 patients 97% of patients surveyed were 'extremely likely' or 'likely' to recommend the practice. The leaders told us they held friends of the practice meetings to encourage patient participation and patients received a quarterly newsletter informing patients of what was happening at the practice and different support groups. The practice provided access to an interpretation service for patients who did not have English language as a first language or required British Sign Language. The patient record system was used to alert staff to any access requirements the patients required. The practice was updating their website to have a one-stop service for patients and easy access for appointments, news, ordering prescriptions. The leaders explained they had ensured that information in leaflets was clear and available in different languages.

Staff told us patient appointments were available either online, face to face, by telephone, or as a home visit. Patients could book routine appointments in advance and same-day appointments were available each morning. The practice had arrangements in place for prioritising patients. The practice was open from 8am to 6:30pm from Monday to Friday. GP and nurse appointments were available from 9am to 6pm all weekdays, and Saturdays from 9am to 1.30pm. Patients also had access to an out of hours services provided by the GP federation. For example, a GP out of hours service from 6:30pm to 8pm weekdays, and from 8am to 8pm on a Saturday and Sunday. And other healthcare professionals who carried out vaccinations or long-term health condition reviews from 6:30pm to 10pm weekdays and Saturdays from 9pm to 5pm. The leaders monitored patient demand and capacity regarding the appointment system to ensure patients’ needs were met. They could identify patients who did not attend appointments and those with multiple appointments.

inequalities of their patients to help provide better care. They explained they had a proactive approach, identifying and regularly engaging with patients to ensure improved monitoring of their health. For example, using various clinical systems to identify clinical needs, such as cardiovascular disease (CHD) prevention, long-term health conditions and medicine changes and then offer appointments. The leaders stated this had reduced the demand on general appointments at the practice. The practice had recently introduced a triage system where reception staff would ask the patient for information to enable them to decide about which clinician was appropriate for the patient to see. Staff were undergoing triage and care navigation training and had the support of a duty doctor. Patients were given the option of a face to face, telephone or online appointment when contacting the practice. The leaders explained they monitored patients access to appointments and the telephone usage and responded to the demands. In response to patient feedback, the practice had employed a diabetes specialist nurse, a GP with a special interest in dermatology and a pharmacist to provide extra appointments. The leaders explained access to primary care network (PCN) appointments at the practice had also improved patients access to specific clinicians, for example a clinical pharmacist, a first contact physiotherapist, mental health worker, substance misuse worker and a social prescriber. Feedback from staff demonstrated people in vulnerable circumstances were able to register with the practice, including those with no fixed abode such as homeless people and Travellers. The practice was accessible to wheelchair users. The practice told us clinical and admin staff were completing the Oliver McGowan training in learning disability and autism.

We did not look at Equity in experiences and outcomes during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We did not look at Planning for the future during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.