Archived: Wincanton Health Centre

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

Wincanton health centre was inspected on Tuesday 9 December 2014. This was a comprehensive inspection.

Wincanton health centre provides primary medical services to approximately 8,500 patients of a diverse age group. The practice was situated in a purpose built building on the outskirts of Wincanton.

The team at Wincanton health centre was composed of four GP partners and a practice manager who was also a partner. The partners at the practice hold managerial and financial responsibility for running the business. The practice employs three acute care practitioners (ACPs). The ACPs are able to assess, diagnose, treat and prescribe medicines for acute common conditions such as minor accidents, chest and urine infections. In addition the team were supported by three practice nurses, two health care assistants, and additional administrative and reception staff.

Patients using the practice also had access to community staff including district nurses, an independent living team, community psychiatric nurses, health visitors, physiotherapists, speech therapists, counsellors, podiatrists and midwives.

We rated this practice as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

There were systems in place to address incidents, deal with complaints and protect adults, children and other vulnerable people who use the service. Significant events were recorded and shared with multi professional agencies and there was evidence that lessons were learned and systems changed so that patient care was improved.

There were systems in place to support the GPs and other staff to improve clinical outcomes for patients. Patient care and treatment is considered in line with best practice national guidelines and staff are proactive in promoting good health.

The practice were pro-active in obtaining as much information as possible about their patients which do or can affect their health and wellbeing. Staff knew the practice patients well, were able to identify patients in crisis and were professional and respectful when providing care and treatment.

The practice planned its services to meet the diversity of its patients. There were appropriate facilities available, adjustments were made to meet the needs of the patients and the appointment system enabled good access to the service.

There was a clear leadership structure in place. The team structure had changed in recent months with the introduction of a new advanced nursing team. Any issues we identified had already been recognised and were being addressed to make sure quality and performance was monitored and risks were identified and managed.

There were areas of practice where the provider should make improvements.

The provider should ensure that:

• All nursing and medical staff should receive training in the Mental Capacity Act (2005).

• The practice should ensure quality standards are monitored whilst the new systems are introduced, to ensure all patients with severe mental illness were being seen each year for a review.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice