Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Crossfell Health Centre on 4 October 2017. The overall rating for the practice was good. The full comprehensive report on the October 2017 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Crossfell Health Centre on our website at .
This inspection was a desk-based review carried out on 6 April 2018 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the ‘should’ that we identified in our previous inspection on 4 October 2017. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and also additional improvements made since our last inspection.
At our inspection on 4 October 2017 we reported that: The provider should ensure action is taken to improve telephone access to the Practice. Results from the national GP patient survey showed that patient’s satisfaction with how they could access care and treatment was below local and national averages. We rated the location as requires improvement for providing responsive services.
The practice is now rated as good for providing responsive services.
Our key findings were as follows:
- The provider has made changes to the appointment system which has improved access for patients.
- Did not attend (DNA) rates for the month of March 2018, in comparison to October 2017 had reduced by almost 50%
- The provider has introduced a nine months closure to the patient list to reduce the pressure around access to care.
- Test results and prescriptions can now only be accessed via the telephone after 2pm (for results) and 4pm (for prescriptions) to reduce early morning pressure around telephone access.
- Since October, each GP has additional telephone slots available for consultation
- The provider has now reinstated GP pre-bookable appointments throughout the week. (Previously only offered on Saturdays).
- The patient participation group carried out a survey which asked patients views about telephone access to the practice.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice