Park Practice

Updated 22 June 2016

Park Practice is located at 9, Broadwater Way, Eastbourne, BN22 9PQ.

The premises is on the outskirts of Eastbourne, near to a residential area, purpose built and with good parking facilities. It is fully accessible for wheelchair users.

• The practice consists of nine GPs. Five GP partners (all male) and three salaried GPs (all female). The practice is a training practice and currently has one GP registrar (female).
• There are three practice nurses, two health care assistants and one phlebotomist. The practice also employs a paramedic for two days per week and a pharmacist for two days per week.
• The practice employs a practice manager, an office manager and a team of receptionists and administrators.

• The practice is open between 8.30am and 6pm Monday to Friday. Appointments are from 8.30am to 12 midday and 2.30pm to 5.30pm daily. Extended hours appointments are offered up to 8pm on Monday and Wednesday. Evening phlebotomy appointments are also offered on a Monday and Wednesday.
• Patients who require healthcare when the practice is closed are directed to use the NHS 111 service. Between the hours of 8am and 8.30am and also 6pm to 6.30pm the 111 service will contact the practice’s duty doctor.

• The patient population is 10,886 and the general profile of the practice patient population mirrors that of the national average.
• The practice operates under a General Medical Services (GMS) contract and offers enhanced services. For example: childhood immunisation and facilitating timely diagnosis and support for dementia.

Updated 22 June 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Park Practice on 30 March 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 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.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Ensure that the records maintained in relation to significant events are detailed, robust and fully auditable.

• Ensure that cleaning schedules are auditable and specify equipment to be cleaned.

• Ensure that all minutes recorded during meetings are detailed and that actions and outcomes are fully auditable.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 22 June 2016

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

• Nursing staff had lead roles in chronic disease management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority.
• The percentage of patients on the diabetes register, with a record of a foot examination and risk classification within the preceding 12 months (01/04/2014 to 31/03/2015) was 92% compared to the national average of 88%.
• The percentage of patients with diabetes, on the register, who had had influenza immunisation in the preceding 1 August to 31 March (01/04/2014 to 31/03/2015) was 100% compared to the national average of 94%.
• 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 22 June 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.
• The practice offered pre-booked antenatal care, six week checks and postnatal checks.
• The immunisation appointment system had been modified to improve convenience for families to attend, resulting in relatively high rates 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.
• The practice offered full family planning services including intrauterine devices and implants.
• The percentage of women aged 25-64 whose notes record that a cervical screening test has been performed in the preceding 5 years (01/04/2014 to 31/03/2015) was 81% compared to the national average of 82%
• The premises were suitable for children and babies.
• Every patient under the age of 16 years was offered a same day face-to-face appointment out of school hours if required or as appropriate.
• We saw positive examples of joint working with midwives, health visitors.

Updated 22 June 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.
• All patients over the age of 75 years were offered on the day face to face appointments.
• The practice has employed an Advanced Health Care Practitioner (AHCP) to provide enhanced care to older and vulnerable patients in their own homes or in the surgery.
• The practice has appointed a community pharmacist with a primary focus on care for patients who were over 75, to review and reconcile the complex prescribing found in this population group.

Updated 22 June 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 appointment system offered time specific telephone consultations including lunchtime and up until 7pm, which had reduced the need for face-to-face consultations and proved popular in this population group.

Updated 22 June 2016

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

• 86% of patients diagnosed with dementia had had their care reviewed in a face to face meeting in the last 12 months, compared to the national average of 84%.
• The percentage of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and other psychoses whose alcohol consumption has been recorded in the preceding 12 months (01/04/2014 to 31/03/2015) was 98% compared to the national average of 89%.
• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of patients experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia.
• The practice carried out advance care planning for patients with dementia.
• The practice offered extended appointments to patients experiencing poor mental health in accordance with their individual needs.
• The practice had told patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.
• Staff had a good understanding of how to support patients with mental health needs and dementia.

Updated 22 June 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. There were 242 patients on the register at the time of the inspection.
• 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.
• A member of the administration team was responsible for managing the practice admissions avoidance/complex care list.
• The practice held monthly palliative care meetings.
• The Advanced Health Care practitioner and the pharmacist took a key role in addressing the specific needs of this group including extended health checks and medicine reviews.
• 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.