Archived: Drs K Conod & S Garsed Also known as The Limes Medical Centre

Updated 10 December 2015

Drs K Conod, S Caddy & S Garsed, also known as The Limes Medical Centre, is part of Walsall Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area which has 63 practices.

There are five GPs (two male and three female). In addition, there are two practice nurses, a practice manager, and a team of administrative staff.

There are approximately 6800 patients registered with the practice. The practice has a higher proportion of patients aged over 65 and a lower proportion of patients under the age of 40 compared to the national average.

The practice has a General Medical Service contract (GMS) with NHS England. The practice also provides some enhanced services. An enhanced service is a service that is provided above the standard GMS contract.

The practice opening times are from 7.30am until 6 pm Mondays to Thursdays and 7.30am until 12 noon Friday. Cover for primary healthcare on Friday afternoon was available to patients and details of how to access this were available on the practice answer phone. The practice had opted out of providing out-of-hours services to their own patients. This service was provided by an external out of hours service ‘BADGER’ contracted by the CCG.

Updated 10 December 2015

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

Drs K Conod, R Jarrams & S Caddy is also known as The Limes Medical Centre. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically we found the practice requires improvement for safe services but was good for providing effective, responsive, caring and well led services. The practice was found to be good for the services it provided to all population groups.

Our key findings were as follows:

• Emergency medicines and medical equipment were not managed safely and not all staff were aware of their roles in the event of a medical emergency.

• The practice had effective procedures in place that ensure care and treatment was delivered in line with appropriate standards.

• Patients were treated with dignity and respect. Patients spoke very positively of their experiences and of the care and treatment provided by staff.

• The practice was responsive to patients’ needs and provided services that reflected the needs of the patients.

• We found that the service was well led overall. The practice engaged with the patient population and made changes to service where appropriate as a result of their feedback.

Areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements are:

The provider must:

• Ensure medication management systems are robust.

• Ensure emergency medical equipment is in date and checked regularly to ensure it is safe and in working order.

In addition the provider should:

• Ensure DBS checks or appropriate risk assessments are carried out for staff who assume the role of a chaperone.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 14 May 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with long-term conditions. The practice had arrangements to care for people with long term health conditions, for example those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and diabetes. There was a clinical lead to ensure patients were called for check-ups for conditions such as diabetes. The practice was undertaking an enhanced service to reduce unnecessary emergency admissions to hospital. The focus of this enhanced service was to target specific patient groups such as patients with long term conditions and develop plans for coordinated care. Patients who were on long term medication, as a result of their condition, received regular reviews to assess their progress and ensure their medications remained relevant to their health needs. Regular review meetings were held with a multidisciplinary team to discuss each patient. There were arrangements to share information with out of hours services when the practice was closed to ensure people received co-ordinated care and treatment which met their needs.

Updated 14 May 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of families, children and young people. The practice had arrangements in place to ensure the needs of mothers, babies, children and young people were met. For example the practice nurse undertook childhood vaccination programmes, and chlamydia testing. Antenatal care was provided by both midwife and the GPs on a shared-care basis and postnatal examinations are done by the GP. The practice had stopped running baby clinics at set times because working patients could not always attend the clinic times. As a result parents were able to book appointments for a check-up of their babies at a time that suited them. Health Visitors were available for general advice on sleeping and feeding in respect of new born babies. Young adults had access to preventative sexual health services provided by the practice including screening for Chlamydia (a sexually transmitted disease).

Updated 14 May 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people. The practice was accessible for patients who had limited mobility.. All the consultation rooms were on the ground floor of the practice. If patients were unable to attend the practice because they were housebound they could be seen at home. Telephone consultations were also available. We received good feedback from managers of local care home regarding the service offered by the practice. They told us that the GPs undertook home visits on request. Health checks and medication reviews took place and repeat prescriptions were easily accessible. The practice was taking part in the enhanced service aimed at reducing avoidable unplanned emergency admissions to hospitals for vulnerable and older people. There were arrangements in place to ensure continuity of care for those patients who needed end-of-life care.

Updated 14 May 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of working-age people (including those recently retired and students). The practice had appropriate arrangements in place to ensure the needs of working age patients and those recently retired were met. Access to the service could be made by telephone, in person or online; via the internet. Consultations with a GP were available from 8:30am Monday to Friday and patients were able to see a nurse from Monday to Friday 7:30am to 11:30am. There was a recall system in place for cervical screening. This procedure was carried out by the practice nurse. Information leaflets and posters were available in the patient waiting area and on the practice website to support and signpost people to support groups and organisations. This included information about self-management of minor illnesses. Opportunistic health checks and advice was offered (for example blood pressure checks and advice on family planning). Holiday vaccination advice was available through consultation with a practice nurse.

Updated 14 May 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia). Dementia screening for all patients over 65 was available at the practice. This enabled patients to receive appropriate treatment and support if they were developing symptoms of dementia. The practice offered depot injections. These are longer acting injected medicines used for some patients experiencing mental ill health. Patients with mental health problems had the choice of having this injection at their GP surgery rather than an outpatient clinic or mental health centre if this was more convenient or more preferable to them. A community psychiatric nurse (CPN) was based at the practice two afternoons a week. There was a three week waiting time to see the CPN who was funded by the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

Updated 14 May 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable. People were able to telephone the practice and speak with a doctor for a telephone consultation. This allowed timely access to vulnerable patients and supported decisions relating to hospital admissions, in order to reduce avoidable hospital admissions or A&E attendances. The practice had identified vulnerable people and completed care plans to help ensure they received the most appropriate care. The practice carried pout regular NHS Health Checks as well as alcohol screening which helped patients to receive the appropriate advice, support and treatment. Information leaflets and posters were available in the patient in the practice and on the practice website to support and signpost people to support groups and organisations. The practice offered sexual health and substance misuse support, advice, and referral for patients. Staff members we spoke with were unsure what they would do if a patient without a fixed address needed to see a GP. The practice did not have a clear policy in place if such a situation was to occur.