Background to this inspection
Updated
25 June 2018
Wilderness Road Surgery is situated in Earley, Berkshire and is part of the NHS Berkshire West Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). The practice has stronger links with practices in the Wokingham area although it is geographically closer to Reading. Services are provided under a general medical service (GMS) contract with NHS England.
The surgery is located in a converted house where it occupies the ground floor. The practice website can be found at http:
In the past eighteen months significant change has taken place at the practice. In 2017 GPs from a practice in Slough, Berkshire commenced working with the previous lead GP at the practice to prepare for this lead GP to retire. This was undertaken to ensure services continued to be provided from the surgery to the local population. A salaried GP who had worked at the practice in the past returned to offer continuity of care and in January 2018 the management of the practice was transferred, formally, to the much larger practice in Slough.
There are approximately 2,300 registered patients. The practice population includes a higher number of patients aged between 40 and 70 years of age than the national average; 45% compared to 37% nationally.
Information published by Public Health England, rates the level of deprivation within the practice population group as 10 on a scale of one to ten. Level one represents the highest levels of deprivation and level ten the lowest. Male and female life expectancy in the practice geographical
area is similar to the national average. Approximately 20% of the practice patients are from ethnic groups.
Practice opening hours are from 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday and extended hours appointments are offered on a Friday evening between 6.30pm and 7.30pm.
When the practice is closed, patients are able to access the local out of hours services (Westcall) by telephoning NHS 111.
There are four part time GPs, one male and three female regularly working at the practice. There is one GP on duty every day making an equivalent of 1.25 whole time GPs at the practice. Nursing provison is limited to one practice nurse who works three half days each week. The clinical staff are supported by a management team based at the provider’s main surgery in Slough, East Berkshire. There is a team of four reception/administration staff.
The practice provides family planning, maternity and midwifery services, treatment of disease, disorder or injury and diagnostic and screening procedures as their regulated activities.
Updated
25 June 2018
This practice is rated as Good overall.
(Wilderness Road Surgery is a newly registered practice and this is the first inspection of this service under this provider.)
The key questions are rated as:
Are services safe? – Good
Are services effective? – Good
Are services caring? – Good
Are services responsive? – Good
Are services well-led? - Good
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Wilderness Road Surgery on 9 May 2018. This inspection was carried out under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. The inspection was planned because the provider of the service had changed and to check whether the new provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008. We also looked at the overall quality of the service and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
At this inspection we found:
• The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
• The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured care and treatment was delivered according to evidence based guidelines.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported they were able to access care when they needed it. Patient feedback on the care and treatment delivered by all staff was consistently positive.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.
• A firm commitment to offering continuity of care whilst enhancing the choice of GPs available to patients.
• Change management was undertaken in an inclusive manner to ensure patients services were not affected when the provider changed.
• The practice demonstrated a commitment to improve services. For example, it had identified lower than average attendance for cancer screening and immunisations and had implemented improved recall systems to follow up patients that did not attend.
The areas where the provider should make improvements are:
• Continue to develop a workflow protocol to deal with communications coming into the practice and an audit process to ensure compliance.
• Review the sustainability of improvements made on the day of inspection. For example, completing the scheduled fire drill and reviewing advice for receptionists to identify potential life threatening symptoms..
• Review the effect of updating the recall systems for cancer screening and immunisations to evaluate whether they have proven effective.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPHFRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice.