Woodview Medical Practice

Updated 20 February 2017

Woodview Medical Practice is located in the village of Cockfield, near to the town of Bishop Auckland. There are two branch sites at Evenwood and Staindrop which were also visited.

The practice provides services under a General Medical Services (PMS) contract with the NHS Area Team to the practice population of 2412, covering patients of all ages. The practice is a ‘dispensing practice’ and is able to dispense medicines for patients who live more than one mile from the nearest pharmacy.

The practice scored five on the deprivation measurement scale, the deprivation scale goes from one to ten, with one being the most deprived. People living in more deprived areas tend to have a greater need for health services.

The practice has two GP partners and one associate GP, all are female. There is one practice nurse and one health care assistants (HCA).There is a practice manager and a team of administration and dispensing staff.

Woodview practice is open between 8.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday. Appointments are available from 8.30am to 11.30am and 4.30pm to 6.30pm on Mondays, 8.30am to 11.30am on Tuesdays, 9.00am to 12.00 on Wednesdays, 10.10am to 12.00 on Thursdays and 10.10am to 12.00 and 4.30pm to 6.30pm. The Staindrop surgery had appointments available Mondays 10.50am to 12.00, Tuesdays 4.00pm to 6.30pm, Wednesdays 10.40am to 12.00, Thursdays and Fridays 8.30am 9.30am. The Evenwood surgery had appointments available on Mondays 4.00pm to 5.00pm, Wednesdays 8.30am to 9.30am and Fridays 3.00pm to 4.00pm.

Saturday morning appointments are available and provided by Durham Dales Health Federation (DDHF) Federation Hub.

The practice, along with all other practices in the Durham, Darlington, Easington and Sedgefield CCG area have a contractual agreement for the Out of Hours provider to provide OOHs services from 6.00pm. This has been agreed with the NHS England area team.

The practice has opted out of providing out of hours services (OOHs) for their patients. When the practice is closed patients use the 111 service to contact the OOHs provider. Information for patients requiring urgent medical attention out of hours is available in the waiting area, in the practice information leaflet and on the practice website.

Updated 20 February 2017

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Woodview Medical Practice on 28 July and 1 August 2016. 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 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 were able to get same day appointments however some patients told us it could be difficult to make appointments. GPs had ‘personal lists’ providing all patients with a named GP and continuity of care.
• 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.

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

Importantly the provider should:

• Ensure that balance checks on controlled drugs were carried out at the frequency as detailed within current standard operating procedure.

• Ensure that a formal process to regularly check medicines were within their expiry date.

We saw one example of outstanding practice:

The practice also provided a teledermatology service (this is the ability to photograph skin lesions and send the images securely to a Consultant Dermatologist to diagnose whether further treatment is necessary or not). This provided care closer to home.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 20 February 2017

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

• GPs and nursing staff had lead roles in chronic disease management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority.

• Nationally reported data for 2014/2015 showed that outcomes for patients with long term conditions were good. For example, the percentage of patients on the diabetes register, with a record of a foot examination and risk classification within the preceding 12 months was 92. This was 5% above the local CCG and 4% above the England average.

• Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed.
• Patients with LTCs had a named GP and a structured annual review to check that their health and medicines needs were being met. For those people with the most complex needs, the named GPs worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

Updated 20 February 2017

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 or who failed to attend hospital appointments.

• Immunisation rates were 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.

• Nationally reported data from 2014/2015 showed the practice’s uptake for the cervical screening programme was 81%. This was 3% above the local CCG average and 7% above the England average.

• Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies.

• We saw good examples of joint working with midwives, health visitors and school nurses.

  The practice monitored any non-attendance of babies and children at vaccination clinics and worked with the health visiting service to follow up any concerns.

• The practice has the ‘Young Carers Charter’.

• The practice works closely with a local children’s home. One GP and the practice nurse visited the children’s home to display posters and raise to raise the children’s awareness of the practice’.

Updated 20 February 2017

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.

• All elderly patients have a comprehensive six monthly review.

• The practice were responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs.

• Nationally reported data for 2014/2015 showed that outcomes were good for conditions commonly found in older people. For example, performance for heart failure indicators was 100%; this was 1.3% above the local CCG average and 1.5% above the England average.

• Community Advanced Nurse Practitioners visit care homes each day on behalf of the practice to support the patients and staff to prevent inappropriate hospital admissions.

Updated 20 February 2017

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 reflected the needs for this age group.

• Telephone consultations were available every day with a call back appointment arranged at a time to suit the patient, for example during their lunch break.

Updated 20 February 2017

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

• Nationally reported data from 2014/2015 showed 98% of people diagnosed with dementia had had their care reviewed in a face to face meeting in the preceding 12 months. This was 15% above the local CCG average and 14% above the England average.

• Nationally reported data from 2014/2015 showed the percentage of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and other psychoses who had a comprehensive care plan documented in their record in the preceding 12 months was 89%. This was comparable to the local CCG average and the England average.

• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of people experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia.

• The practice carried out advanced care planning for patients with dementia.

• Dementia diagnosis rates are 118% of expected, above CCG and national averages.

• The Practice works with social prescribing groups such as the Dementia Advisor and the Dementia Café.

• 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 people with mental health needs and dementia. The practice had recently signed up to become ‘dementia friends’. (A dementia friend is someone who learns more about what it is like to live with dementia and turns that understanding into action).

Updated 20 February 2017

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

• The practice held registers of patients living in vulnerable circumstances which included those with a learning disability.

• The practice offered longer appointments for people with a learning disability.

• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable people.

• The practice told 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.

• Telephone interpretation services were available and information leaflets in different languages were provided when required.