Walton Village R Also known as Walton Village Medical Centre

Updated 24 April 2017

Walton R (Walton Village Medical Centre) is based in Walton Village in Liverpool. There were 2187 patients on the practice register at the time of our inspection.

The practice is managed by three GP partners (two male, one female). There is a part time practice nurse. Members of clinical staff are supported by a practice manager, reception and administration staff.

The practice is open 8am to 6.30pm every weekday. Patients requiring a GP outside of normal working hours are advised to contact the GP out of hours service, provided by Urgent Care 24 by calling 111.

The practice has a General Medical Services (GMS) contract and has enhanced services contracts which include childhood vaccinations. The practice is part of Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group.

Updated 24 April 2017

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Walton Village R on 25 April 2016. The overall rating for the practice was requires improvement. The full comprehensive report on the 25 April 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Walton Village R on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This inspection was an announced comprehensive carried out on 21 March 2017 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches in regulations that we identified in our previous inspection on 25 April 2016. This report includes our findings in relation to those requirements.

Overall the practice is rated as good for providing services.

Our key findings were as follows:

• The practice was a small family practice which had been at the heart of the community for many years and patients received a continuity of care from GPs.

• The practice premises were in need of refurbishment, but plans for this were on hold. The practice had limited disabled access and no hearing loop. There was access to translation services.

• The practice had addressed the majority of the issues identified during the previous inspection 25 April 2016. Improvements included: the management of health and safety of the premises, increased audits which had improved clinical outcomes for patients; and improved methods of shared learning for staff. However, more work was required in terms of quality assurance of some of the systems to mitigate safety risks. For example, for uncollected prescriptions, safeguarding and cleaning of the premises.

• The practice did have oxygen for use in medical emergencies but no defibrillator. The practice had carried out a risk assessment as to how they would manage a medical emergency without a defibrillator.

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered in line with current legislation.

• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect. However, at this inspection not all staff had received training around the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and we were concerned about the lack of some GP’s understanding around issues of consent. We were advised training had been arranged.

• Patient survey data and comment cards reviewed demonstrated that patients found staff helpful and that they providing a caring service and good access to appointments but that there were problems with waiting times beyond allocated appointment times. The practice had identified this problem by monitoring survey results and had put some measures in place to tackle this issue.

• The practice did have a list of carers but only had 9 patients on the register and not all staff were clear about what support was offered to carers.

• Information about services and how to complain was available. The practice sought patient views about improvements that could be made to the service; including having a patient participation group (PPG) and acted, where possible, on feedback.

The provider should:

• Regularly review the risk assessment for the need for a defibrillator to ensure they can effectively respond to any medical emergency should there be a delay in the ambulance response time.
• Monitor safeguarding cases and have a system for monitoring patients where there is a safeguarding concern.
• Have due regard to the national standards for the cleaning of practice premises.
• Have a system to monitor and act on uncollected prescriptions to ensure patients receive their medication in a timely fashion.
• Ensure all clinicians update their knowledge around issues of consent.
• Encourage the uptake of carers on the practice register and make it clear to both staff and patients what support is available from the practice.
• Have a system to monitor patient group directives (PGDs) for the authorisation of immunisations.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 24 April 2017

The practice is rated as good for providing services for people with long term conditions.

The practice had registers in place for several long term conditions including diabetes and asthma. Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed. All these patients had a structured review to check their health and medicines needs were being met. For those patients with the most complex needs, the GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care. 

Updated 24 April 2017

The practice is rated as good for providing services for families, children and young people.The practice had safeguarding policies and all staff were aware of their responsibilities to report safeguarding concerns.

Updated 24 April 2017

The practice is rated as good for providing services for older people.

The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population and offered home visits and care home visits. The practice participated in meetings with other healthcare professionals to discuss any concerns. There was a named GP for the over 75s.  

Updated 24 April 2017

The practice is rated as good for providing services for working age people.

The needs of this population group had been identified and the practice had adjusted the services it offered to ensure these were accessible. There were online systems available to allow patients to make appointments.

Updated 24 April 2017

The practice is rated as good for providing services for people experiencing poor mental health.

Patients experiencing poor mental health received an invitation for an annual physical health check. Those that did not attend had alerts placed on their records so they could be reviewed opportunistically.  The practice worked with local mental health teams to ensure patients received annual health checks.

Updated 24 April 2017

The practice is rated as good for providing services for people whose circumstances make them vulnerable.

The practice held a register of patients living in vulnerable circumstances including those with a learning disability. It had carried out annual health checks and longer appointments were available for people with a learning disability.