Archived: Everton Road Surgery and Merseyview Walk in Centre

Updated 8 January 2015

Everton Road Surgery and Merseyview Walk in Centre are located near Liverpool City centre and are part of a group of services owned by SSP Health Ltd. Both services are located in the same building (Everton Road Health Centre) which is shared with other services such as community and dental services. SSP Health Ltd. is currently caretaking Merseyview Walk in Centre and is awaiting contract proposals.

Both the practice and walk in centre share the same reception area but have completely separate computer and appointment systems. There is one lead GP in charge of both services. Each service has a separate practice manager but share the reception staff, Practice Secretary and Health Care Assistant.

Everton Road Surgery is located on the lower ground floor. The practice has four GPs (three male and one female) a Practice Nurse, a Health Care Assistant and administration staff. The practice is open 8.00am to 6.30pm Monday to Thursday and offers extended opening hours on a Friday from 8.00am to 8.00pm. Patients requiring a GP outside of normal working hours are advised to contact an external out of hours provider (Urgent Care 24). The practice has an Alternative Provider Medical Services (APMS) contract and also offers enhanced services for example; various immunisation and learning disabilities health check schemes. The practice is a training practice and also offers community placements to medical students from the University of Liverpool School of Medicine.

There were approximately 4,860 patients registered at the practice at the time of our inspection. The practice treated all age groups but the majority of the patients seen at the practice were under 50 years of age.

Merseyview Walk in Centre is located on the ground floor and has a shared waiting room area. The walk in centre is GP led. There are three GPs (two male and one female). The walk in centre provides unscheduled care to unregistered patients. The walk in centre is open 8.00am to 8.00pm everyday including weekends and bank holidays.

Updated 8 January 2015

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This is the report from our inspection of Everton Road Surgery and Merseyview Walk in Centre. Both services are operated by the company SSP Health Ltd. and are located in the same building, Everton Road Health Centre. (This report does not cover other services that are available within the health centre.)

Everton Road Surgery and Merseyview Walk in Centre are registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide primary care services. Both the practice and walk in centre are registered as one location. SSP Health Ltd. was caretaking the walk in centre at the time of our inspection. The overarching policies and procedures were the same for both services. One GP lead was in charge of overseeing both services.

We undertook a planned, comprehensive inspection on the 21 October 2014 at Everton Road Surgery and Merseyview Walk in Centre. We reviewed information we held about the services and spoke with patients, GPs, and staff.

Both the practice and walk in centre were rated as Good overall. There were some elements of the practice and walk in centre that could be improved but both services provided good care to the population it served.

Our key findings were as follows:

• There were systems in place to mitigate safety risks. The premises were clean and tidy. Systems were in place to ensure medication including vaccines were appropriately stored and in date.

• Both the practice and walk in centre were effective. Patients had their needs assessed in line with current guidance and the practice promoted health education to empower patients to live healthier lives.

• Both the practice and walk in centre were caring. Feedback from patients and observations throughout our inspection highlighted the staff were kind, caring and helpful.

• Both the practice and walk in centre were responsive and acted on patient complaints and feedback.

• Both the practice and walk in centre were well led. The staff worked well together as a team and had regular staff meetings and training.

However, there were also areas of both the practice and walk in centre where the provider could make improvements. 

The provider should:

• Complete the induction mandatory training for recently recruited members of staff.

• Complete the appraisal process for staff, in particular the nursing staff.
• Ensure more robust security arrangements for checking the stock of prescription forms.
• Ensure only a GP carries out a medication review.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 8 January 2015

There were registers of patients with long term conditions which enabled the practice to monitor and arrange appropriate medication reviews. The Practice Nurse supported patients with a variety of long term conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The Health Care Assistant helped with blood pressure monitoring of patients.

The practice used the Quality and Outcomes Framework to monitor patient outcomes and worked on local initiatives.

Updated 8 January 2015

Mothers and babies at 6 weeks old were routinely checked by the Health Visitor and GP. After this appointment, appointments were made for the baby to have immunisations with the Practice Nurse.

The practice had a system in place for flagging up those children who had not received their vaccinations and the practice was encouraging follow up visits. The Practice Nurse had recently received refresher training on immunisations.

The practice had a system for ensuring that children requiring prompt care were seen as a priority.

Updated 8 January 2015

The practice offered a named GP for those patients who were 75 years and older in line with the new GP regulations. The practice was responsive to the needs of older people, including offering home visits and rapid access appointments for those with enhanced needs.

The practice held monthly Gold Standard Framework meetings to discuss patients who required palliative care with other health care professionals to ensure patients received ‘joined up’ care appropriate to their needs.

Immunisations such as the flu vaccine were offered to older patients.

Updated 8 January 2015

The practice had a designated Health Trainer who could spend more time with patients to discuss their current lifestyles and to promote healthy living such as healthy eating and weight loss.

All patients were offered referrals to hospitals of their choice by operating a ‘Patient Choose and Book’ service.

Updated 8 January 2015

The practice maintained a register of patients who experienced mental health problems. The register was used by clinical staff to offer patients an annual health check and medication review.

The practice also had links with local counselling services.

Updated 8 January 2015

The practice kept a list of patients with learning disabilities and arranged support and an annual health check. The practice sign posted patients with no fixed abode to any relevant service.

The practice had a substance misuse lead who dealt specifically with patients struggling with drug addictions.

The practice and the walk in centre used the facilities from language line to ensure patients whose first language was not English could receive support with their appointments and also access other local health care services.