Archived: Millbrook Medical Practice

Updated 28 July 2016

Millbrook Medical Practice provides primary medical services in Stalybridge, Tameside from Monday to Friday. The surgery is open:

Monday 08:00 - Monday 20:00

Tuesday 08:00 - Tuesday 18:30

Wednesday 08:00 - Wednesday 18:30

Thursday 08:00 - Thursday 20:00

Friday 08:00 - Sunday 18:30

Saturday 09:00 - Saturday 12:00

Appointments with a GP are available between 9.00am and 12:00pm and 2:00pm and 5:00pm, Monday to Friday. GP appointments are also available between 6:00pm and 7:00pm Mondays and Thursdays and Saturday mornings. The practice also participates in a local out of hours scheme in which patients are able to access GP appointments at a local hub evenings and weekends.

Stalybridge is situated within the geographical area of Tameside and Glossop Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

The practice is part of Go to Doc (GTD) a not for profit organisation. The practice has an 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.

Millbrook Medical Practice is responsible for providing care to 2913 patients. The practice had a young patient population with 49% aged 20 to 49 years of age. Only 4% of patients were over 70 years of age.

The practice consists of two GP salaried partners and one salaried sessional GP, two of whom are female. The practice employed a practice nurses and health care assistant. The practice was also a training practice and at the time of our inspection there was one trainee GPs. The practice is supported by a practice manager, head receptionist, receptionists, administrators and GTD.

When the practice is closed patients are directed to the out of hours service.

Updated 28 July 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Millbrook Medical Practice on 15 June 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed, including those relating to recruitment checks.

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.

• Data showed patient outcomes were in line with or above those locally and nationally.
• Feedback from patients about their care was consistently and strongly positive.

• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.

• The practice implemented suggestions for improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a result of feedback from patients.

• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.

• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment and that 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.

We saw examples of outstanding practice including:

The practice had extended the role of the Health care assistant (HCA) to include a patient liaison role. They had protected time to actively contact and support patients over 75 years of age and carers, to ensure their needs were being met and referred to relevant health and social care providers including Age UK. We were provided with examples of support provided including adaptations to patients home to improve mobility.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 28 July 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.
• Where appropriate patients with more than one long-term condition were able to access a joint review to prevent them having to make multiple appointments.
• All these patients had a named GP and a structured annual review to check that their health and medicines needs were being met. For patients with complex needs, a named GP and practice nurse worked with relevant community and healthcare professionals to deliver multidisciplinary support and care. Multidisciplinary meetings were held to review patients’ needs and to avoid hospital admissions.
• Patients with COPD and Asthma had self-management plans and access to medication at home for acute exacerbations and were directed to a structured education programme.

Updated 28 July 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of families, children and young people.

• The practice had a higher than average patient population within this population group with 65% of patients under 40 years of age and 20% under the age of 10.

• 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 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.
• Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies.
• We saw good examples of joint working with midwives and health visitors. A midwife held antenatal clinics weekly.
• A contraceptive and sexual health advice was available including condom distribution.

Updated 28 July 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.
• It was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs. Nursing and residential homes had allocated GPs.
• The practice had extended the role of the HCA to include a patient liaison role, providing them with protected time to actively contact and support patients over 75 years of age and carers, to ensure their needs were being met and where appropriate referred to relevant health and social care providers including Age UK.
• The practice embraced the Gold Standards Framework for end of life care. This included supporting patients’ choice to receive end of life care at home.

Updated 28 July 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.
• Appointments were available outside of normal working hours, with two evening surgeries and a Saturday morning surgery.
• 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.