Theale Medical Centre

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• 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 was able to demonstrate a clear understanding of the needs of its patient population and made efforts to adjust services accordingly. There were systems in place to determine required appointments and appropriate staffing levels at the practice. The telephone system at the practice was recently upgraded to add a call-back function, which enabled enhanced patient experience. Leaders regularly engaged with the patient participation group (PPG), who provided recommendations for improvements at the practice.

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.

People’s feedback received via the national GP patient survey was used to drive improvements. There was an action plan in place to respond to any declining indicators. We observed that the GP Patient Survey showed the patient satisfaction had 2 outliers out of the 4 indicators, including the ease of getting through the GP practice on the phone. As part of their action plan, the practice shared the results of their internal survey that focused on telephone access and feedback about the new telephone system. It showed a high patient satisfaction outcome which was an improvement from the national GP patient survey results, with 60% of respondents finding it easy to get through the practice on the phone. There was an active patient participation group (PPG), that met regularly to discuss all aspects of service delivery. The feedback from PPG members showed there was open and honest communication with the practice, and the views of all members were valued and included.

The practice had a number of processes in place to ensure patient demand was being met. A range of appointment options were offered, including same-day appointments for most urgent needs and pre-bookable appointments allowing patients to plan their visits up to 2 weeks in advance. The patients could book appointments with the nurse staff, clinical pharmacists, and a social prescriber. There was a new quality improvement plan introduced to increase access to face-to-face urgent care appointments and routine appointments to provide a safe level of care for the patients. The practice had a capacity management system in place that enabled leaders to align staffing numbers with demand, ensuring the right ratio of clinical teams working to meet the demand for urgent care appointments. The reception staff received regular training on appropriate triaging and were able to refer to the allocated duty doctor where needed. The interviews with leaders demonstrated they were aware that there was a greater demand for face-to-face appointments, and the practice has been adjusting the delivery of its services to meet the needs of the patients.

Leaders at the practice shared initiatives on improving access for the patients, which included offering longer appointments for patients living with dementia, learning disabilities, and for those whose first language was not English. Continuous improvements were being made to access by offering early morning, late evening, and Saturday appointments with the GPs and the nurses at the practice. Additionally, the practice utilised an online triage tool whereby patients could ask a doctor or nurse a question, and the practice would respond by either offering an appointment or advice, depending on the request. The practice has been promptly responding to patient feedback, both from the PPG meetings and the internal survey regarding additional online appointments and had introduced these lately.

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.