Archived: Wheal Northey Surgery

Updated 23 July 2015

The Wheal Northey Surgery provides primary medical services to people living in St Austell and the surrounding areas.

The Wheal Northey Surgery is part of the consortium known as the St Austell Healthcare Group Ltd and they have in place an agreement to help manage and lead Polkyth Surgery for which they have overall responsibility for managing.

This was a comprehensive inspection.

At the time of our inspection there were approximately 8,900 patients registered at the service. There had been a vast increase of patient numbers in the past six months due to patients moving from the Polkyth Surgery. The practice had a team of three male and one female GP partners and one female salaried GP. The partners held managerial and financial responsibility for running the business. There were three nurses, a midwife and three healthcare assistants at the practice. In addition there was a practice manager, and additional administrative and reception staff.

Patients who use the practice have access to community staff including district nurses, health visitors, physiotherapists, and mental health counsellors.

The Wheal Northey Surgery is open from 8am until 6pm on Monday and 7:30am to 6pm on Tuesday through to Friday for regular appointments. During evenings and weekends, when the practice is closed, patients are directed to an Out of Hours service delivered by another provider.

The practice was a GP training practice and was able to take registrars, (doctors training to be GPs). They also had medical students from the Peninsular Medical School.

Updated 23 July 2015

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Wheal Northey Surgery on 8 January 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing safe, well-led, effective, caring and responsive services. It was also good for providing services for all the population groups.

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

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
• 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.
• Patients said, although sometimes difficult to get through by telephone they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• The practice had good facilities and was well 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.

However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

The provider should:

• Carry out a full infection control audit within the practice to the cleanliness of the environment, and the re-usable equipment for patient use or at point of care.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 23 July 2015

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

The practice managed the care and treatment for patients with long term conditions in line with best practice and national guidance. Health promotion and health checks were offered in line with national guidelines for specific conditions such as diabetes and asthma. Longer appointments were available for patients if required, such as those with long term conditions. The practice had a carers' register and all carers were offered an appointment for a carers' check with nursing staff. Patients were screened for depression if appropriate. All patients suffering with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease had a care plan.

Updated 23 July 2015

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

Staff worked well with the midwife to provide prenatal and postnatal care. Postnatal health checks were provided by a GP. The practice provided baby and child immunisation programmes to ensure babies and children could access a full range of vaccinations and health screening. Information relevant to young patients was displayed and health checks and advice on sexual health for men, women and young people included a full range of contraception services and sexual health screening including chlamydia testing and cervical screening. The GPs training in safeguarding children from abuse was at the required level.

Updated 23 July 2015

The practice is rated as good for providing care to older people.

All patients over 75 years had a named GP. Health checks and promotion were offered to this group of patients. There were safeguards in place to identify adults in vulnerable circumstances. The practice worked well with external professionals in delivering care to older patients, including end of life care. Pneumococcal vaccination and shingles vaccinations were provided at the practice for older people on set days as well as during routine appointments.

Updated 23 July 2015

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

The practice provided appointments on the same day. Emergency appointments were available. The practice operated extended early opening hours four mornings and one late evening during the week. Appointments and prescriptions could be managed through the practice website. Smoking cessation appointments were available. The practice website invited all patients aged between 40 years to 75 years to arrange to have a health check with a nurse if they wanted. A cervical screening service was available.

Updated 23 July 2015

The practice is rated as good for people experiencing poor mental health, including people with dementia.

The practice was aware of their aging population group. Staff were aware of the safeguarding principles and GPs and nurses had access to safeguarding policies. The nurses had received training in the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and were aware of the principles and used them when gaining consent. There was signposting and information available to patients. The practice referred patients who needed mental health services and community psychiatric nurses visited the practice. Patients suffering poor mental health were offered annual health checks as recommended by national guidelines.

Updated 23 July 2015

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

The practice had a vulnerable patient register to identify these patients. Vulnerable patients were reviewed at team meetings. Referral to a counselling service was available. The practice did not provide primary care services for patients who were homeless as none were known, however, staff said they would not turn away a patient if they needed primary care. Patients with interpretation requirements were known to the practice and staff knew how to access these services. Reception staff were able to identify vulnerable patients and offer longer appointment times where needed.