Weoley Park Surgery

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, on 6 March 2024. The leaders used people’s feedback and other evidence to actively seek to improve access for people. Services were designed to make them 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. However, during the last 18 months the practice had faced additional challenges and pressures with the temporary closure of their branch surgery.

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.

The leaders demonstrated they were aware of the challenges to patient access and had acted to improve patient access. The leaders explained they provided opportunities and support for different groups of patient population to overcome health inequalities. For example, the practice had registered as a Safe Surgery helping to remove barriers to people who may not have proof of identity or address, it was also a veteran friendly practice and employed staff with an understanding of the challenges, they had multilingual staff and made use of interpreters when needed, they acknowledged and told us how they supported those in the LGBTQA+ community who struggled to access appropriate services for their needs. Leaders told us how they made use of clinical system alerts to identify patients who may struggle to access services so that reasonable adjustments could be made or where continuity of care may be appropriate. Home visits were available for those whose health needs prevented them from attending the practice. Leaders worked within their Primary Care Network and Integrated Care Board to identify and share ideas in relation to improving access. This enabled staff to refer and signpost patients to a wider range of health and social care professionals and appointments. Including the new community pharmacy consultation services and social prescribers. Staff had been trained in care navigation enabling them to refer patients to the right clinician for their needs and had information to support them to do so. Monthly appointment data showed that the practice had capacity to meet patient demand for appointments with approximately 80% of appointments being utilised.

Patients could book appointments by telephone, online, and in person by visiting the practice. The practice offered a range of on the day appointments and pre-bookable appointments up to 2 weeks in advance. Patients were able to choose whether they wanted a face to face or telephone appointment, although staff were aware that certain conditions needed to be seen face to face. Data collected by the practice showed that the majority of appointments were face to face. The practice offered appointments with a variety of clinical staff as well as GPs as appropriate for example, physician associate, advanced nurse practitioner, practice nurse, Healthcare Assistant, Pharmacists, Social prescriber and mental health practitioner. The practice was open Monday to Friday 8am to 6.30pm for appointments and could offer pre-booked appointments weekday evenings 6.30pm to 8pm and on a Saturday 9am to 1pm weekend at other local GP practices as part of the extended access arrangements within their Primary Care Network. In addition, as a member of a federation’ the practice could also offer urgent appointments during the day at another practice 8.30am to 4pm if needed. Clinical system alerts ensured certain patients were prioritised and offered an appointment within 24 hours for example, those requiring end of life care. Some appointments were reserved to accomodated urgent and NHS 111 appointments. Once appointments had been filled any urgent requests were triaged by the duty GP. Practice staff were also trained to signpost patients to other appropriate services and were supported to do this by documented protocols.

In 2023 results from the National GP Patient Survey showed responses to questions relating to access were below the national average. Previous trends in the patient survey had been above the national average but had declined over the last two years. Results from the Friends and Family Test were more positive. Of 153 responses between November 2023 and January 2024, 79% of patients rated the practice as good or very good. Among the responses received there were 12 comments which positively mentioned access and 4 negative. There were two reviews left on the NHS Website relating to the practice, one of which the patient referred to difficulties in receiving a timely appointment. Patient feedback gathered by the practice was also more positive. The practice had undertaken inhouse surveys relating specifically to access. Results from 112 patients between December and January 2024 showed 88% of patients responded positively to questions about accessing the service. However, these results cannot be directly compared to those of the GP National Patient Survey. The practice also shared complaints they had received in the last 12 months none of which related to access. Minutes from a Patient Group Meeting in 2022 showed discussions about lengthy waits on the telephone when contacting the practice. The practice had informed the group that they were planning to implement a new cloud-based telephone system in the near future. We recognise the pressure that practices are currently working under, and the efforts staff are making to maintain levels of access for their patients. At the same time, our strategy makes a commitment to deliver regulation driven by people’s needs and experiences of care. Although we saw the practice was attempting to improve access, this was not currently reflected in the GP patient survey data.

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.