Archived: Wawn Street Surgery

Updated 1 December 2016

Wawn Street Surgery is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide primary care services. It is located in the town of South Shields, Tyne and Wear.

The practice provides services to around 8,850 patients from one location: Wawn Street, South Shields, Tyne and Wear, NE33 4DX. We visited this address as part of the inspection. The practice has four GP partners (three female and one male), one salaried GP (male), two practice nurses (both female), three healthcare assistants, a managing partner, and 14 staff who carry out reception and administrative duties.

The practice is part of South Tyneside clinical commissioning group (CCG). The age profile of the practice population is broadly in line with CCG and national averages. Information taken from Public Health England placed the area in which the practice is located in the third more deprived decile. In general, people living in more deprived areas tend to have greater need for health services.

The practice is located in a purpose built two storey building. All patient facilities are on the ground floor. There is on-site parking, disabled parking, a disabled WC, wheelchair and step-free access.

Opening hours are between 8.30am and 6pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday; then between 8.30am and 7.30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Patients can book appointments in person, on-line or by telephone. Appointments were available at the following times:

• Monday - 8.30am to 11am; then from 3.30pm to 5.50pm
• Tuesday – 8.30am to 11am; from 3.30pm to 5.50pm; then from 6.30pm to 7.15pm
• Wednesday – 8.30am to 11am; then from 3.30pm to 5.50pm
• Thursday – 8.30am to 11am; from 3.30pm to 5.50pm; then from 6.30pm to 7.15pm
• Friday – 8.30am to 11am; then from 3.30pm to 5.50pm

A duty doctor is available each morning between 8am and 8.30am and Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons until 6.30pm.

The practice provides services to patients of all ages based on a General Medical Services (GMS) contract agreement for general practice.

The service for patients requiring urgent medical attention out of hours is provided by the NHS 111 service and Vocare, which is also known locally as Northern Doctors Urgent Care.

Updated 1 December 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Wawn Street Surgery on 11 October 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance.
• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Staff told us there was a no blame culture and they were encouraged to report incidents.
• 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.
• Most patients said they were able to get an appointment with a GP when they needed one, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• Some patients found it difficult to get through to the practice on the telephone; the practice had carried out extensive reviews of the telephone system and had recently submitted a bid for funding from NHS England to make improvements to the telephone system.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• There was a clear leadership structure in place and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which they acted on.
• Staff and managers were very organised and there were efficient and effective work processes in place.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels within the practice. The practice team was forward thinking and had implemented a number of innovative systems.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 1 December 2016

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

• Nursing staff had lead roles in chronic disease management and patients at risk of admission to hospital were identified as a priority.
• The practice had recently changed the system for arranging clinics for patients with more than one long term condition so they only needed to attend for one annual review, rather than several throughout the year.
• Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed. The practice’s electronic system was used to flag when patients were due for review. This helped to ensure the staff with responsibility for inviting people in for review managed this effectively.
• Patients had regular reviews to check with health and medicines needs were being met.
• For those people with the most complex needs, GPs worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

Updated 1 December 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of families, children and young people.

• The practice had identified the needs of families, children and young people, and put plans in place to meet them.
• 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 relatively high 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, and we saw evidence to confirm this.
• Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies.
• We saw positive examples of joint working with midwives, health visitors and school nurses.
• The practice’s uptake for the cervical screening programme was 79.1%, which was slightly below the CCG average of 81.9% and the national average of 81.8%.
• Pregnant women were able to access an antenatal clinic provided by healthcare staff attached to the practice.

Updated 1 December 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. For example, all patients over the age of 75 had a named GP. Patients at high risk of hospital admission and those in vulnerable circumstances had care plans.
• Weekly multi-disciplinary meetings were held to ensure staff were kept up to date about high risk patients, including elderly palliative care patients.
• The practice was responsive to the needs of older people and offered home visits and urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs.
• A palliative care register was maintained and the practice offered immunisations for pneumonia and shingles to older people.
• GPs carried out a fortnightly ward round at the practice linked care home.

Updated 1 December 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 and flexible. Extended hours surgeries were offered every Tuesday and Thursday evening for working patients who could not attend during normal opening hours.
• The practice offered a full range of health promotion and screening which reflected the needs for this age group. Patients could order repeat prescriptions and book appointments on-line.
• Additional services were provided such as health checks for the over 40s and travel vaccinations.

Updated 1 December 2016

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

• The practice worked closely with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of people experiencing poor mental health including those with dementia. Care plans were in place for patients with dementia.
• Patients experiencing poor mental health were sign posted to various support groups and third sector organisations.
• The practice kept a register of patients with mental health needs which was used to ensure they received relevant checks and tests.
• Staff were able to access urgent telephone advice from a consultant psychiatrist.

Updated 1 December 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 those with a learning disability.
• Patients with learning disabilities were invited to attend the practice for annual health checks and were offered longer appointments, if required. Information leaflets and letters to patients inviting them to attend for reviews or screening checks were available in easy read format.
• The practice had effective working relationships with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable people. A drug and alcohol support worker attended the practice each week and the practice provided shared care prescribing for patients with drug and alcohol problems.
• 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 and out of hours.
• Good arrangements were in place to support patients who were carers. The practice had systems in place for identifying carers and ensuring that they were offered a health check and referred for a carer’s assessment.