The Alton Practice

Updated 26 August 2022

The Alton Practice is located in London at:

208-210 Roehampton Lane,

Roehampton,

London,

SW15 4LE

The provider is registered with CQC to deliver the Regulated Activities; diagnostic and screening procedures, maternity and midwifery services and treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

The practice is situated within the South West London Integrated Care Systems (ICS) and delivers General Medical Services (GMS) to a patient population of about 4,250. This is part of a contract held with NHS England.

The practice is part of a wider network of GP practices and is part of West Wandsworth Primary Care network (PCN) and Battersea Healthcare Community Interest Company (BHCIC).

Information published by Public Health England shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the fourth lowest decile (four 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 66% White, 13% Black, 11% Asian, 7% Mixed, and 3% Other.

There is a team of four GPs, including a managing partner and partner. The practice has a team including a practice nurse, clinical pharmacist and a healthcare assistant. The GPs are supported at the practice by a team of three reception staff, with recruitment for a fourth in progress. The business manager and operations supervisor provide managerial oversight.

The practice is open between 8am to 6:30pm Monday to Friday and 8.30am to 12:30pm on Saturday. The practice offers a range of appointment types including book on the day, telephone consultations and advance appointments.

Out of hours services are provided by NHS 111.

Updated 26 August 2022

We carried out an announced focused inspection at The Alton Practice on 08 August 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as Good:

Safe - Good

Effective - Good

Well-led - Good

Following our previous inspection on 5 May 2016, the practice was rated good overall and for all key questions.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Alton Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated Good and Outstanding to test the reliability of our new monitoring approach.

How we carried out the inspection

Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently.

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.

This included:

• Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing
• Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system and discussing findings with the provider
• 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 have rated this practice as Good overall

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 practice adjusted how it delivered services to meet the needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
• 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 take action to improve uptake of childhood immunisations and cervical screening.
• Provide information and make services accessible for patients with disabilities or whose first language is not English
• Record serial numbers of blank prescription stationary as they are delivered to ensure patient safety.

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