Fallowfield Medical 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: The provider had organised services to meet people’s needs and used their feedback and other evidence to seek and improve access for their patient population. Services were designed to make them accessible and timely for people including those most likely to have difficulty accessing the service. The practice prioritised, allocated resources and developed opportunities as needed to tackle inequalities and to achieve equity of access. The practice routinely monitored demand and capacity regarding access arrangements and had established systems to enable the ongoing analysis of appointments and call data and to seek feedback from people to learn more about their experiences when accessing the service. The responsive key question remains rated as good.

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.

In the 2023 National GP Patient Survey, the practice’s data demonstrated that patient satisfaction with GP practice appointment times, how easy it was to get through to the practice by phone, satisfaction with the appointments offered and the overall experience of making an appointment was slightly higher or in line with both the national and local averages. Prior to our assessment, we invited the practice to contact a sample of patients on our behalf so that people could give feedback on their experience regarding access. We received feedback from 7 patients of which 4 directly related to access. Three responses were positive and one was negative. The practice encouraged patients to provide feedback on their experience via the NHS Friends and Family Test (FFT). At the time of our assessment the practice did not have an active patient participation group and were looking to establish one from April 2024. Results for the FFT data was reviewed for the period December 2023 to February 2024. During this period, the results for the practice indicated that people were overall positive about their experience. For example, in February 2024, 106 people responded to the survey of which 103 people reported that their experience was very good or good.

Practice leaders demonstrated that they were mindful of the challenges to patient access and that they understood the diverse needs of their local population. Feedback from leaders confirmed 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 had also signed up to the on-line Register with a GP Surgery Service. The practice was mindful of the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) and made adjustments when necessary to respond to the communication and support needs of people. Staff were able access to a range of resources for patients, subject to individual needs. The practice provided opportunities and support for different patient cohorts to overcome health inequalities and to communicate and engage with staff. For example, supporting people who have a learning disability to access the service. This included adding alerts on the clinical system, providing priority and longer appointments in an appropriate area and ensuring that any other reasonable adjustments were made. Staff had completed equality and diversity training and were being supported to complete other training. For example, supporting people with a learning disability, autism awareness and awareness of visual impairments in older people. The practice worked with other local stakeholders to improve access to primary care. For example, their local PCN and the ICB. Plans were in place to also establish a patient participation group from April 2024.

The practice website provided key information for patients regarding how to book an appointment. Patient appointments were available via phone, face to face at the surgery, video call, text, email or as a home visit when appropriate. Information on the website could be translated to other languages as required by patients. Appointments could be requested on-line, by phone or in person. Information regarding how to access out of hours support was also displayed on the practice website. Same day and pre-bookable appointments were available subject to individual needs. The practice offered appointments with a variety of clinical staff for example, doctors, a clinical pharmacist and practice nurse. Patient advisor staff had access to protocols and guidance and had been trained to support appropriate triage. Staff competency was reviewed by the practice management team on an ongoing basis. Demand and capacity regarding the telephone and appointment system, including the availability of appointments and staffing resources required was monitored by practice leaders on an ongoing basis. Furthermore, the practice had established systems to routinely monitor patient feedback, track satisfaction trendlines over time and to identify outliers and any areas for action. Additionally, the practice had repeated the GP patient survey with a sample of patients at quarterly intervals to track and compare feedback and identify outstanding areas for action. Unvalidated data received from practice leaders indicated ongoing improvement with patient satisfaction over time.

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.