Westlands Medical Centre Also known as Dr Sommerville & Partners

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. We found: The leaders used people’s feedback and other evidence to actively seek to improve access for people. The practice was designed to be accessible and timely for people who were most likely to have difficulty accessing care. The provider prioritised, allocated resources and opportunities as needed to tackle inequalities and achieve equity of access.

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.

We reviewed the practice's results in the 2023 national GP patient survey taken from 1 January to 3 April 2023. This looked at patients’ response to how easy it was to get through to someone at their GP practice on the phone, those who were satisfied with their GP practice appointment times, and those who responded positively to the overall experience of making an appointment, the results were in line with the national average. People whom English was not their first language or had other communication needs had access to an interpretation or support service. The practice was accessible to people with mobility needs and was in the process of making further improvements such as clearer signage and further accessible toilet facilities for people with disabilities. We found the leaders had responded to patient feedback and were making improvements. We received feedback from the Patient Participation Group (PPG) who made positive comments about the service. The practice had managed and responded to feedback obtained via Friends and Family Test (FFT). Actions had been taken in response to themes and trends identified, for example, implementing a ‘You said, We did’ noticeboard in the reception and better signage throughout the practice. The leaders demonstrated they were aware of the challenges to patient access and had acted to improve the experience. Surveys had been carried out in relation to patient satisfaction with appointment preferences. We saw evidence of audits completed in relation to access, such as appointment capacity and demand data, telephone waiting times, appointment waiting times and patient ‘Did Not Attend’ (DNA) rates per GP in order to assess performance. This also helped provide oversight to rota management and staffing arrangements to meet demand. The practice had developed frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) supporting information through patient engagement to aid accessibility and awareness to the recently implemented appointment triage system.

Leaders explained they provided opportunities and support for different groups of patient population to overcome health inequalities. For example, leaders would identify frequent contactors via telephone audits and offer a more co-ordinated package of care, including referral to the social prescribing team where needed. The leaders promoted the use of their website and online consultation service to improve access and online forms were available to be submitted to the practice for urgent and routine care needs. Feedback from staff demonstrated people in vulnerable circumstances were easily able to register with the practice and offered further support where required, including carers, people with learning disabilities and those with no fixed abode such as homeless people and Travellers.

Patient appointments were available either online, face to face, telephone, or as a home visit. Patients could book appointments by telephone, online, walking-in and could also submit medical or admin requests online via the practice website. The practice provided a personalised list service where patients were allocated a named GP. This helped to deliver continuity of care and a person-centred approach by allowing people to see the same clinicians for their care and treatment. Cover arrangements were in place and a duty GP available where people were unable or did not choose to see their named GP, which included any urgent or follow-up care. Records were communicated to via the practice records system and reviewed by the named GP at a later date. Patients could book routine appointments up to 2 weeks in advance and same-day appointments were available each morning from 8:30am to 5.30pm. The practice offered appointments from a variety of clinical staff, for example the health care assistant, GP assistant (GPA), pharmacists and practice nurses. The practice worked with the Primary Care Network (PCN) to offer extended access arrangements outside of normal working hours and the practice could book patients into appointments with first contact physiotherapists, mental health practitioner, phlebotomists and social prescribers. The practice had offered people who were cared for at home and could not access the practice a routine proactive care review at home with a GP and also had support from the locally commissioned home visiting service. The practice had arrangements in place for prioritising people based on need, including those in palliative care. Staff had completed care navigation training and the practice had designed and implemented a triage process for staff to follow. This included what was an urgent priority and how to respond. The reception team worked alongside a duty doctor, who saw patients with urgent needs and provided advice to the reception team.

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.