Stourport Medical Centre

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Staff treated patients equally and without discrimination. The provider complied with legal equality and human rights requirements. Staff took time to listen to patients so they could engage in all aspects of their treatment. Leaders ensured patients had access to appointments when they needed them and supported patients to have good outcomes where appropriate. Staff supported patients to plan for the future.

This service scored 82 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Patients' individual needs and preferences were central to all appointments and meant patients received a service which was tailored to their needs.

Staff were responsive to patients’ individual needs. They listened to patients and had the skills to signpost patients to other services if this was needed. This gave patients more timely access to external support from both NHS and voluntary sector services. Leaders had policies and processes in place to ensure care and treatment was person centred for patients. They were a veteran friendly and sensory friendly practice which meant they could offer person-centred care to individuals with specific needs.

Leaders and staff demonstrated they understood the diverse needs of their local community. They ensured care was joined up, flexible and supported patients’ choice by building working relationships and communication with other professionals so patients received person centred care in a timely and seamless way.

We saw evidence of the care provided with partners which ensured patients received and integrated approach to care and treatment. This included minutes from the frailty and safeguarding multidisciplinary team meetings.

Leaders ensured the practice had clear referral policies and procedures in place to ensure patient care was joined-up, flexible and supported patient choice and continuity. They were part of a local partnership including four other GP practices which enabled them to share clinics and good practice through regular meetings. Patients could book follow up appointments with the same GP for continuity.

Patients had access to information they needed in a way they could understand. This included direct information from GPs and staff, via the website and in the waiting area. The patient participation group (PPG) had been actively involved in the development of the practice website to ensure it was user friendly for patients.

Leaders and staff said information was provided in line with the Accessible Information Standards. These set out a consistent approach to identifying, recording, flagging, sharing, and meeting the information and communication support needs of patients, service users, carers and parents with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss. This included longer appointments for people with a learning disability and those with complex needs.

Leaders and staff said information was provided in line with the Accessible Information Standards. These set out a consistent approach to identifying, recording, flagging, sharing, and meeting the information and communication support needs of patients, service users, carers and parents with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss. This included longer appointments for people with a learning disability and those with complex needs.

The PPG felt they were fully involved in the way the practice was developed. They had regular meetings with leaders and felt they were listened to. Patients provided feedback through both the national GP survey and those carried out by the leaders at the practice.

Leaders and staff told us complaints were regularly discussed and reviewed in practice meetings so learning from these was shared across the practice and the wider Wyre Forest Partnership. Staff knew how to support patients who wanted to make a complaint.

Leaders had a policy and system in place for managing complaints. They had a dedicated complaints email which patients could use. This went directly to the manager and deputy managers who responded according to the policy and investigated the complaints. Patients without access to email could complain in person or by telephone. Staff who had been complained about were offered additional support by leaders to ensure their health and wellbeing was not seriously impacted. The practice had received 45 complaints in the previous 12 months.

Most patients had no concerns about accessing the practice. A small number stated they had found the total triage system for booking appointments difficult to use but staff at the practice were available to support them with this. Patients did not experience discrimination, inequality or disadvantage when accessing the practice.

Staff worked hard to remove any barriers to access for patients. There was a strong culture to prevent discrimination and inequalities supported by training and guidance. Leaders completed audits about access to the practice and waiting times for appointments. These were benchmarked against the other practices in the Wyre Forest Partnership to ensure they were continually assessing and developing the system.

Patients could book appointments by telephone where reception staff completed the triage form or by completing this themselves online. The practice had a triage team who reviewed all forms and allocated appointments according to priority need. Patients could request the same GP for non-urgent appointments. All children were offered a same day appointment. The triage team referred patients on to other services such as the pharmacy where appropriate. All patients were informed about the next steps by their preferred method of contact. The practice had made alterations to the allocated time for each patient appointment which had been extended to 15 minutes. Leaders ensured there was a coordinator in place for children’s immunisations, so these were followed up when missed. A mental health nurse was employed by the practice to ensure patients had access to this type of support when appropriate.

Feedback provided by patients using the service, both to the provider as well as to CQC, was positive. Staff treated patients equally and without discrimination.

Leaders proactively sought ways to address any barriers to improving patients' experience and worked with local organisations, including within the voluntary sector, to address any local health inequalities. Staff understood the importance of providing an inclusive approach to care and made adjustments to support equity in patient’s experience and outcomes.

The provider had processes to ensure patients could register at the practice, including those in vulnerable circumstances such as homeless people and Travellers. Staff used appropriate systems to capture and review feedback from patients using the service, including those who did not speak English or have access to the internet.

Patients were positive about the support they received with long term health conditions. They said staff supported them to plan for the future and felt the continuity of care they received supported this.

Leaders and staff showed a strong commitment to offering support to patients planning for the future. They had a dedicated end of life lead GP who was passionate about ensuring patients received the highest levels of care during this time. Leaders had systems and processes in place to ensure patients who may be approaching the end of their life were identified (including those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act and people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable). The end of life lead engaged with services in the community such as the Macmillan nurses, neighbourhood teams and the ageing well team who visited patients who were housebound to ensure patients received the best possible care. The practice was registered with the Daffodil Standards for GP services. This is an evidence-based framework to help practices self-assess and consistently offer the best end of life and bereavement care for patients. Leaders sent a bereavement card to families and informal carers following a bereavement which included contact details of support they could access such as bereavement counselling.