Willow Practice

Updated 19 September 2016

Willow practice is located in Maswell Park Health Centre in Hounslow and shares the premises with two other GP practices. The practice is part of the NHS Hounslow Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) made up of 54 GP practices. The practice provides primary medical services through a Personal Medical Services (PMS) contract to approximately 4,800 patients in the local community.

The practice has a higher than national average number of registered patients between 25 and 39 years of age and children under 10 years old. There is a wide ethnic mix that covers all social class groups in the practice population.The practice area is rated in the fourth least ss deprived decile of the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). People living in more deprived areas tend to have greater need for health services.

The practice is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide the regulated activities of diagnostic and screening procedures, treatment of disease, disorder or injury, maternity & midwifery services, surgical procedures and family planning.

The practice team consists of two female GP partners and one male GP partner (18 sessions), a salaried female GP (six sessions), four practice nurses, three healthcare assistants, a practice manager supported by a small team of reception and administration staff. The practice nurses and the healthcare assistants are shared with the two other practices in the health centre on a rota basis and the practice manager manages one other practice in the health centre. The waiting room is shared between all three practices.

The practice is open between 8:00am and 6:30pm Monday to Friday with extended hours on Monday and Thursday mornings from 7.00am to 8:00am. Extended hours are also available on Monday evenings to from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. Appointments are from 8.30am to 11.30am and from 3:30pm to 6:00pm daily. The practice phone lines are open throughout the opening hours. The practice is closed at weekends and patients can access out of hours care through the NHS 111 service. The practice provides a weekend hub service once every seven weeks.

Services provided include childhood immunisations, cervical smears, diabetic clinics including insulin initiation, family planning, foreign travel, maternity services, anticoagulation and complex wound care. The practice is an approved training practice with one GP qualified as a trainer.

Updated 19 September 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Willow practice on 9 August 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• 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. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• The practice had adequate facilities and was 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.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

• One GP partner had developed an ill child assessment template on the clinical system which had been rolled out for use by all practices in the local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). The template contained information to help assess ill children including referral to hospital. The template was an educational tool for GPs and acted as a record of children’s well-being.

The areas where the provider should:

• Ensure appraisals are updated annually for all staff.
• Implement a program of quality improvement including clinical audit to drive improvement in patient outcomes.
• Consider providing access to a hearing loop for those patients hard of hearing.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 19 September 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with long-term conditions.

• Nursing staff worked alongside the GPs in chronic disease management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority.
• Performance for diabetes related indicators was 100% with a low exception reporting of 7%.
• The practice had completed the nine key care processes for diabetic care (those identified as essential by the NHS for quality diabetes care) in 92% of patients with diabetes.
• 72% of patients with diabetes had a blood glucose level below the QOF target of 59 mmol/mol which was the best performance out of ten practices in the local network.
• A diabetic specialist nurse and dietitian attended the practice one day a month to provide clinics for complex cases.
• Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed.
• All these patients had a named GP and a structured annual review to check their health and medicines needs were being met. For those patients with the most complex needs, the named GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

Updated 19 September 2016

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 comparable to others for all standard childhood immunisations.
• Patients told us that children and young people were treated in an age-appropriate way and were recognised as individuals.
• The practice’s uptake for the cervical screening programme was 82%, which was comparable to the CCG average of 78% and the national average of 82%.
• Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies. 

Updated 19 September 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people.

• The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population.
• The practice was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs.
• 70% of over 65 year olds (414 patients) had received an influenza vaccine in the previous year.
• Care plans were in place for 162 patients on the unplanned hospital admissions register.
• Latest figures for emergency hospital admissions were 76% which was below the national average of 92%.

Updated 19 September 2016

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 practice provided early morning and evening appointments for those patients who could not attend during normal surgery hours.

Updated 19 September 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).

• 96% of patients diagnosed with dementia had had their care reviewed in a face to face meeting in the last 12 months, which was comparable to the CCG/national average of 84%.
• 91% of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and other psychoses had a comprehensive, agreed care plan documented in the record, in the preceding 12 months which was comparable to the CCG/national average of 88%.
• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of patients experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia.
• The practice had told patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.
• The practice had a system in place to follow up patients who had attended accident and emergency where they may have been experiencing poor mental health.
• Staff had a good understanding of how to support patients with mental health needs and dementia.

Updated 19 September 2016

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.
• The practice offered longer appointments for patients with a learning disability.
• The practice regularly worked with other health care professionals in the case management of vulnerable patients.
• The practice informed 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.