Archived: Dr Somesh Chander

Updated 31 August 2016

The Dr Somesh Chander practice is located in South Tyneside, and has surgeries in South Shields and Boldon Colliery areas. The practice provides services to around 1762 patients of all ages. The practice provides services from the following addresses, which we visited during this inspection:

• Flagg Court Health Centre, Flagg Court, South Shields, Tyne and Wear, NE33 2LS
• The Surgery, 43 East View, Boldon Colliery, Tyne and Wear, NE35 9AU

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

The practice provides a range of services and clinics, including for example, for patients with asthma, diabetes and heart failure. The practice consists of one GP (who is male), a practice manager who was seconded from another practice to offer administrative and management support, a practice nurse, a healthcare assistant and a small team of administrative and reception staff.

The surgery opening times for Dr Somesh Chander at Flagg Court Health Centre are :

Monday 9:00 - 6:00

Tuesday 9:00 - 6:00

Wednesday 9:00 - 7:00

Thursday 9:00 - 6:00

Friday 9:00 - 6:00

Saturday Closed

Sunday Closed

The surgery opening times for Dr Somesh Chander at the Surgery, Boldon Colliery are:

Monday 15:00 - 17:00

Tuesday 08:30 - 10:30

Wednesday 08:30 - 10:30

Thursday 08:30 - 12:00

Friday 15:00 - 17:00

The service for patients requiring urgent medical attention out of hours is provided by the 111 service and Northern Doctors Medical Services Limited. During the normal contracted core hours of 8am to 9am and 6pm to 6:30pm, the practice has made arrangements for the out of hour providers to deliver services to their patients.

Information taken from Public Health England placed the area in which the practice was located in the third most deprived decile. In general, people living in more deprived areas tend to have greater need for health services.

The practice’s population includes more patients aged 65 and over than the average for other practices in England. The average male life expectancy is 76 years, which is three years lower than the national average of 79 years. The average female life expectancy is 81, which is two years lower than the England average of 83 years.

Updated 31 August 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out a previous announced inspection of this practice on 23 June 2015. Breaches of legal requirements were found. Overall, we rated the practice as requires improvement. After the comprehensive inspection the practice wrote to us to say what they would do to meet the legal requirements set out in the Health and Social Care Act (HSCA) 2008.

We undertook this comprehensive inspection to check that the practice had followed their plan and to confirm that they now met legal requirements. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Dr Somesh Chander on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Overall, the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings 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 improved access to training 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.
• The practice had taken action to address the concerns raised at their previous CQC inspection. They had developed a clear vision, strategy and plan to deliver high quality care and promote good outcomes for patients.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.
• The systems they had in place for learning from significant events were satisfactory and showed evidence of continuous improvement. They had showed continuous improvement in the way they addressed the concerns raised at their previous CQC inspection, which took place in June 2015.

There were also areas where the practice should make improvements. The practice should:-

• Review their approach to audit to ensure there is a closer link between choices of audit topic and improving outcomes for patients.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 31 August 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.
• 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 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 31 August 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.
• 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.
• The practice’s uptake for the cervical screening programme was 91.9%, which was well above the national average of 81.8% and the CCG average of 81.9%.
• Pregnant women were able to access an antenatal clinic provided by healthcare staff attached to the practice.

Updated 31 August 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.
• 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.

Updated 31 August 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 on Tuesday evenings until 7pm 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 31 August 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.

Updated 31 August 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.
• The practice had effective working relationships with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable people.
• 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.
• 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.