Hamstreet Surgery

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

The practice monitored data and feedback related to patient’s experiences when accessing care at the service. Where negative feedback had been received or opportunities to improve were identified, the practice responded with changes designed to improve access and, patients’ experiences and satisfaction levels. New systems had been introduced within the last 12 months, which had been embedded. The practice were continuously monitoring systems and processes to ensure they operated consistently for all patients.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We did not look at Person-centred Care during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We did not look at Care provision, Integration and continuity during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We did not look at Providing Information during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We did not look at Listening to and involving people during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We were shown meeting minutes, patient feedback and data and insight; that had been used to inform decision making regarding changes to access. For example, the practice have a self-harm protocol whereby a search is run weekly by the children’s team lead for any of the self-harm codes that have been added in the past 28 days. Another search is run at the same time for those attending A&E between 10-18 years old and reasons for attendance are checked. This means that any patient with a self-harm code identified is checked by a member of the children’s team. If they are not already engaged in a treatment plan with the GP or another secondary care provider (such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) then they are telephoned by the Children’s team. Since our last inspection, the practice had expanded their nurse sessions on Tuesday evenings to better accommodate the needs of the working population, including working and stay-at-home mums. This scheduling also allowed for after-school appointments for children, particularly for smears, blood tests, and long-term condition reviews. The monthly late Friday session, allows the GPs to contact patients of particular concern, before the weekend and if required, this can be followed up by the Social Prescriber Link Worker on a Saturday. The practice have since implemented a new system where dedicated staff focus on inviting patients in during their birthday month. These staff members then schedule the patients for a Long-Term Care (LTC) preview slot, allowing GPs to assess necessary blood tests and determine the type of review needed. The on-call GP and the reception team convene for an informal meeting, during these sessions, receptionists share information with the GPs of any emerging trends or concerns.

Evidence provided by staff in leadership, management, and support roles; showed clear steps taken by the practice to ensure that improving access and patient experience had been a priority for the practice. Data from the GP patient survey showed 85.1% satisfied or fairly satisfied with their GP practice appointment times had led the service to review performance and identify improvements. For example, expanding their nurse sessions and evaluate their systems for managing long term condition medication reviews. And, to reduce patients’ travel to the hospital and address the limited phlebotomy services and absence of a healthcare assistant on Fridays, the practice implemented appointments for both Friday mornings and afternoons. The leadership explained they had reviewed data and changes made that they believed would have the biggest impact for their patients. In 2021, the surgery took the opportunity to conduct a review of their systems for managing Long-Term Condition (LTC) and medication reviews for their patients. This review, known as ROAR (Review of Active Recall), evaluated the appointment processes, patient access to the practice’s services, their health-seeking behaviour, as well as the roles of staff involved in processing recall invites and reviews. The practice have since implemented a new system where dedicated staff focus on inviting patients in during their birthday month. These staff members then schedule the patients for a Long-Term Care (LTC) preview slot, allowing GPs to assess necessary blood tests and determine the type of review needed, such as for blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, etc.

People can access appointments and services in a way and at a time that suits them. The practice offers a range of appointment types including book on the day, telephone consultations, advance appointments and home visits are available for patients who are housebound because of illness or disability. The results of the most recent GP Patient Survey (published in June 2023) showed the practice performance was above the national averages for all 4 of the indicators measured in relation to access;100% of patients responded positively to phone accessibility (England average 49.6%), 96.6% for overall experience of making an appointment (England average 54.4% and local average 46.5%), 95.9% for satisfaction with offered appointments (England average 72% and local 67.6%), and 85.1% satisfied or fairly satisfied with their GP practice appointment times (England average 52.8% and local 45.8%) showing significant positive variation in relation to access. We were shown a letter dated September 2023 from the Chief Delivery Officer NHS Kent & Medway Integrated Care Board congratulating the practice on their GP patient survey results, in that 99% of their patients rated their overall experience as good, the 2nd highest in the South East region and 11th Nationally. This increased by 8% since 2022; an improvement felt by patients whilst practices were still recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. We received 30 pieces of patient feedback through our Give Feedback on Care process during the assessment and we spoke with 2 members of the Patient Participation Group (PPG). We heard positive feedback about the experiences of patients when accessing care at the service. All patients told us that recent changes had improved their experience when accessing the practice. The practice accommodated patients with hearing disabilities by allowing them to email their needs and arrange for interpreters as necessary.

We did not look at Equity in experiences and outcomes during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We did not look at Planning for the future during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.