Background to this inspection
Updated
19 August 2020
Conisbrough Medical Practice provides care and treatment to approximately 1,650 patients of all ages from the South Doncaster area. The practice is part of NHS Doncaster Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and operates on a General Medical Services (PMS) contract.
The practice provides services from the following addresses, which we visited during this inspection:
Conisbrough Medical Practice
Stone Castle Centre
Gardens Lane
Conisbrough
Doncaster
DN12 3JW
The practice is registered with the CQC for the treatment of disease, disorder or injury; diagnostic and screening procedures; maternity and midwifery services, family planning and surgical procedures. The premises are suitable for patients with mobility issues and on-site car parking is available which includes dedicated disabled parking.
Patients can book appointments in person, on-line or by telephone. Opening hours are from 8am to 6pm on a Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and from 8am to 7.30pm on a Tuesday.
Patients registered with the practice are also able to access appointments at any of the providers other practices also based in the Doncaster area (Askern Medical Practice, Mexbrough Medical Practice and Church View Surgery (which is also known as Denaby Practice)). As a result, patients are able to access appointments with a nurse on weekdays up to 8pm and with a GP or Advanced Nurse Practitioner on Saturday mornings between 9am to 11.30am.
Across all sites the practice has:
- 9 GPs
- 2 Advanced Nurse Practitioners
- A prescribing pharmacist
- 3 practice nurses
- 4 healthcare assistants
- A muscular skeletal practitioner
- A number of non-clinical members of staff including a Group Practice Director, Business Manager, Finance Manager, Site Managers, receptionists and secretaries.
The practice is part of the North Doncaster Primary Care Network which consists of 12 member practices with a total patient population of over 75,000.
The average life expectancy for the male practice population is 77 (CCG average 78 and national average 79) and for the female population 81 (CCG average 82 and national average 83). 16.4% of the practices’ patient population are in the over 65 age group.
At 68%, the percentage of the practice population reported as having a long-standing health condition was higher than the local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) average of 57% and national average of 51%. Generally, a higher percentage of patients with a long-standing health condition can lead to an increased demand for GP services.
At 46% the percentage of the practice population recorded as being in paid work or full-time education was lower than the CCG average of 59% and national average of 63%. The practice catchment area scored two on the deprivation measurement scale; the deprivation scale goes from one to ten, with one being the most deprived. People living in more deprived areas tend to have greater need for health services.
1.9% of the practice patient population were from BME groups. People from different ethnic backgrounds may have an increased risk of developing certain conditions.
Updated
19 August 2020
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Conisbrough Medical Practice on 26 February 2020 as information reviewed as part of our annual regulatory review of this service indicated there may have been a change in quality.
At the last inspection in January 2016 we rated the practice as good overall and for delivering safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led services.
We have based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:
- what we found when we inspected
- information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
- information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.
We have rated this practice as good overall and good for the delivery of safe, effective, caring and well-led services as:
- Care was provided in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
- Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
- Staff treated patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
- The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
- The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.
However, the practice is rated as requires improvement for the provision of a responsive service and for all population groups as verified patient feedback in relation to telephone access and access to appointments was below local and national averages and had deteriorated over time.
We saw areas of outstanding practice:
- The practice was proactive in their care and support of vulnerable patients. For example, in recognition of the fact that the provider had a lot of gypsies and travellers registered with them who were often moved-on they were given priority access appointments and a paper copy of their medical records to carry with them to aid continuity of care. A member of staff acted as a gypsy/traveller liaison worker and a gypsy elder was a member of the practice patient participation group. The provider was able to evidence an increase in childhood immunisation and cervical smear attainment for this group pf patients. They had also been proactive in their support of vulnerable patients affected by severe flooding to the area in late 2019.
- The practice was proactive in supporting students interested in pursuing a career in the field of medicine in the hope that they would choose to work in the local area once qualified and aid problems with recruitment and retention. They offered work placements and had included links on their website to RCGP videos on social media providing insight into a career in general practice. Feedback from students who had participated in the scheme was positive.
Although we did not identify any breaches in regulation the provider should:
- Continue to survey patients about telephone access to determine whether any further improvements to the telephone system are required.
- Continue with plans to review the process of recording that appropriate medication reviews had been undertaken.
- Continue to implement plans to improve cervical screening uptake.
- Offer patients diagnosed with cancer a review within six months of diagnosis.
Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.
Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP
Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care