Background to this inspection
Updated
23 December 2022
Windermere Medical Centre is located in St Helens at:
Windermere Avenue
St Helens
Merseyside
WA11 7AG
The provider is registered with CQC to deliver the Regulated Activities; diagnostic and screening procedures, maternity and midwifery services, treatment of disease, disorder or injury, surgical procedures and family planning.
The practice is situated within the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System (ICS) and delivers General Medical Services (GMS) to a population of 6,360 patients. This is part of a contract held with NHS England.
The practice is part of a St Helens North primary care network (PCN), a wider network of GP practices.
Information published by Public Health England shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the second lowest decile (two of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others.
According to the latest available data, the ethnic make-up of the practice area is 98.5% White and 1.5% Asian, Black, Mixed, and Other.
The age distribution of the practice population closely mirrors the local and national averages. There are more working age patients registered at the practice.
The provider is a partnership of four GPs. The practice is supported by two locum GPs, a locum practice nurse, reception/administration staff, a practice manager and IT lead.
The practice is open between 8am to 6:30pm Monday to Friday. The practice offers a range of appointment types including telephone consultations, face to face, home visits and advance appointments.
Enhanced access is provided by St Helens rota where late evening and weekend appointments are available. Out of hours services are also provided by St Helens rota.
Updated
23 December 2022
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Windermere Medical Centre on 31 October and 3 November 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as good.
Safe - good
Effective - good
Caring - good
Responsive - good
Well-led - good
Why we carried out this inspection
We carried out this inspection in line with our inspection priorities. This was the first inspection under the new provider and the location was registered with the Commission in July 2022. At a previous inspection under the old provider the practice was rated as requires improvement overall.
How we carried out the inspection
This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site.
This included:
- Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
- Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system (this was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements).
- Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider.
- Requesting evidence from the provider.
- A short site visit.
Our findings
We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:
- what we found when we inspected
- information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
- information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.
We found that:
- The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
- Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
- Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
- The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.
Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:
- Continue to improve cervical screening and childhood immunisations.
- Record the induction process for temporary staff.
- Take steps to review unplanned admission reviews and readmissions.
Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.
Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA
Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services