Ephedra Healthcare Also known as Spring House Medical Centre

Updated 10 September 2015

Ephedra Healthcare is an organisation founded in 2009 to run a GP practice and GP led walk in centre called Spring House Medical Centre. They provide a range of primary medical services to the residents of Welwyn Garden City.

The practice population is of mixed ethnic background and national data indicates that the area is one lower deprivation. They have a lower than average older population and a higher younger population. The practice has approximately 7200 registered patients and provides services under a primary medical services contract (PMS). In addition to this the practice sees approximately 20,000 walk in patients per year. From July 2015 the walk in services will no longer be provided by the practice. Walk in patients will be seen at an Urgent Care Centre located at the QEII Hospital in Welwyn Garden City.

Ephedra Healthcare is led by six directors consisting of four clinicians and two practice managers. To run Spring House Medical Centre they employ a full time practice manager and eight salaried GPs, two male and six female. They also have a nursing team consisting of one nurse manager, two nurse practitioners and two health care assistants. The practice also employs a number of reception and administration staff.

The practice is open between 8am and 8pm Monday to Sunday with appointments available during these times. When they are closed out of hours services are provided by Herts Urgent Care and can be accessed via NHS 111.

Updated 10 September 2015

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Ephedra Healthcare on 11 June 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led services. It was also good for providing services for older people, people with long-term conditions, people whose circumstances make them vulnerable, families, children and young people, working people and those who have recently retired and people experiencing poor mental health

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.
• 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.
• The practice had policies and procedures in place to govern its activities.
• The practice was carrying out clinical audits to help them monitor and improve the quality of care given.
• 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.
• 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.

However there were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

Importantly the provider should

• Implement plans for a patient participation group (PPG) to seek feedback and views about the practice from their patients.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 10 September 2015

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 that their health and medication needs were being met. The practice had increased their number of diabetic clinics to improve the care and outcomes for these patients.

Updated 10 September 2015

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. Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies. A visiting midwife had a weekly clinic which had recently been lengthened due to the higher than average number of patients in this group.

Updated 10 September 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people. Nationally reported data showed that outcomes for patients were good for conditions commonly found in older people. The practice had a lower than average number of older people registered with them but offered proactive, personalised care to meet their needs and had a range of enhanced services, for example, in end of life care. It was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and rapid access appointments for those with enhanced needs.

Updated 10 September 2015

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 opening hours of the practice from 8am to 8pm seven days a week allowed for easy access for patients working during normal office hours.

Updated 10 September 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia). The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of people experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia. It carried out advance care planning for patients with dementia.

It had a system in place to follow up patients who had attended accident and emergency (A&E) where they may have been experiencing poor mental health. Staff had received training on how to care for people with mental health needs and dementia.

Updated 10 September 2015

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 homeless people and those with a learning disability. It had carried out annual health checks for people with a learning disability and all of these patients had received a follow-up. It offered longer appointments for people with a learning disability.

The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable people. It had told 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. There was a safeguarding lead who had implemented appropriate safeguarding procedures. Homeless patients could use the practice address as their home address to allow them better access to services.