Archived: Thurrock Health Centre Also known as College Health Ltd

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Thurrock Health Centre, which provides a service to registered patients as well as a walk in centre, on 20 May 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing safe, well-led, effective and responsive and caring services. It was also good for providing services for older people, people with long term conditions, families, children and young people, working aged people (including those recently retired and students), people whose circumstances make them vulnerable and people with mental health (including people with dementia).

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 including those related to patients who accessed the walk-in centre. Improvements were needed in how safety alerts and significant events were acted on and monitored.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance and referrals to secondary care services were made in a timely way.
• The practice provided a walk –in service 365 days each year from 8am to 8pm. They had robust arrangements for liaising with patients registered GPs, the local out-of-hours service and safeguarding teams. Information about patients was shared appropriately between these teams.
• Patients we spoke with said they were treated with empathy, compassion, dignity and respect. They said that they were listened to and involved in making decisions about their care and treatment. Results from the National GP Patient Survey 2015 indicated lower levels of satisfaction and negative comments about how staff engaged with them. The practice was reviewing this feedback and acting on this to improve patient experiences.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand and complaints were handled and responded to appropriately.
• Appointments were flexible to meet the needs of all patients. Some patients reported longer waiting times to be seen and difficulties in accessing appointments. The practice had responded to this by regularly monitoring waiting times and introducing a triage system to help improve access to appointments.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff were supported by management. The practice sought feedback from staff and patients.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice