The Village Surgery

Updated 31 October 2016

The Village Surgery is situated in Timperley and is located within a health centre. There are two other GP practices located in the same building. The building also provides multiple local services which include district nursing.

The male life expectancy for the area is 81 years compared with the CCG average of 79 years and the national average of 79 years. The female life expectancy for the area is 84 years compared with the CCG average of 84 years and the national average of 83 years.

The practice has two GP partners (one male and one female) and two female salaried GPs with one practice nurse. Members of clinical staff are supported by practice manager with reception and administrative staff.

The practice has seen a period of changes with staff retirement, illness and increased in staffing numbers due to absorbing 800 new patients over the last 12 months.

The practice is open between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday. In addition to pre-bookable appointments that can be booked up to six weeks in advance, urgent appointments are available for patients that needed them.

When the practice is closed patients are advised, via the practice website, that all calls will be directed to the out of hours service. Out of hours services are provided by NHS 111. When the surgery is closed patients are directed to Mastercall.

The practice has a Primary Medical Service (PMS) contract with NHS England. At the time of our inspection in total 5364 patients were registered.

Updated 31 October 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Village Surgery on 26 September 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• The practice was rated 91st out of 7,788 practices in a national patient survey of GP practices.
• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. All opportunities for learning from internal and external incidents were maximised.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
• The practice had strong and visible clinical and managerial leadership and governance arrangements.
• Patients said they usually found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• Feedback from patients about their care was consistently positive.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 31 October 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with long-term conditions.

• Nursing staff had lead roles in chronic disease management.
• Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed.
• The practice nurse carried out weekly home visits to housebound patients with long term conditions.
• All these patients had a named GP and a structured annual review to check their health and medicines needs were being met.
• For those patients with the most complex needs, the named GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

Updated 31 October 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of families, children and young people.

• There were systems in place to identify and follow up children living in disadvantaged circumstances and who were at risk, for example, children and young people who had a high number of A&E attendances. Immunisation rates were in line with other practices for all standard childhood immunisations.
• Patients told us that children and young people were treated in an age-appropriate way.
• All children under the age of five were seen on the day the appointment request was made.
• Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies.

Updated 31 October 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people.

• The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population.
• The practice was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs including home visits for acute problems and in order to provide seasonal vaccines.
• The practice held monthly multi-disciplinary team meetings where other clinicians such as district nurses attended.

Updated 31 October 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of working-age people (including those recently retired and students).

• The needs of the working age population, those recently retired and students had been identified and the practice had adjusted the services it offered to ensure these were accessible, flexible and offered continuity of care.
• Appointments were available from 8am Monday to Friday and telephone appointments were also available.
• The practice was proactive in offering online services as well as a full range of health promotion and screening that reflected the needs for this age group.

Updated 31 October 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).

• 91% of patients diagnosed with dementia had their care reviewed in a face to face meeting in the last 12 months, which was above the CCG average of 83% and the national average of 84%.
• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of patients experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia.
• The practice carried out advance care planning for patients with dementia.
• The practice had told patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.
• Staff had a good understanding of how to support patients with mental health needs and dementia.

Updated 31 October 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.

• The practice held a register of patients living in vulnerable circumstances including those with a learning disability.
• The practice offered longer appointments for patients with a learning disability and offered a range of visual information leaflets and letters.
• The practice regularly worked with other health care professionals in the case management of vulnerable patients.
• Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse in vulnerable adults and children. Staff were aware of their responsibilities regarding information sharing, documentation of safeguarding concerns and how to contact relevant agencies in normal working hours and out of hours.