Woodlands & Clerklands Partnership

Updated 21 June 2016

Woodlands & Clerklands Partnership provides primary medical services to approximately 15500 patients and operates from two practices in Crawley, West Sussex and Horley, Surrey.

Patients can access services provided from:

“Woodlands Surgery”, Tilgate Way, Tilgate, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 5BW.

Or

“Clerklands Surgery”, Vicarage Lane, Horley, Surrey, RH6 8AR.

There are seven GP partners and three salaried GPs (five male, four female). Collectively they equate to almost eight full time GPs. The practice is registered as a GP training practice, supporting medical students and providing training opportunities for doctors seeking to become fully qualified GPs.

There are eight female members of the nursing team; three practice nurses and four health care assistant. GPs and nurses are supported by a business manager, an operational manager, two patient services managers and a team of reception/administration staff (patient services team).

Data available to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) shows the practice serves a higher than average number of patients who are aged under 18 years old when compared to the national average. The number of patients aged 65 and over is slightly lower than average. The number of registered patients suffering income deprivation is below the national average.

Both practices are open continuously from Monday to Friday between 8am and 6:30pm. Extended hours appointments are offered at the Woodlands surgery every Thursday evening from 6:30pm to 7:30pm, and Tuesday and Friday mornings from 7am to 8am at the Clerklands Surgery. Appointments can be booked over the telephone, online or in person at the surgery. Patients are provided information on how to access an out of hours service by calling the surgery or viewing the practice website.

The practice runs a number of services for its patients including; chronic disease management, weight management, smoking cessation, maternity services, and holiday vaccines and advice.

The practice has a General Medical Services (GMS) contract with NHS England. (GMS is one of the three contracting routes that have been available to enable commissioning of primary medical services). The practice is part of NHS Crawley Clinical Commissioning Group.

Updated 21 June 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at the Woodlands and Clerklands Partnership on 19 April 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day. Results from the GP patient survey showed patients’ satisfaction with access to care was better than national averages.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• The practice offered a wide range of clinics including those due to the specialist interests of GPs and nurses. For example, on site vasectomy, epilepsy reviews and a specialist treatment for a type of benign vertigo (dizziness). They also offered a walk-in blood test clinic twice per week.
• 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.
• There was a strong focus on education and shared learning throughout the practice.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

We saw areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice had an ethos of education and had designed a competency framework for the patient services team, to provide a standard process for staff to achieve and progress within their role. The framework included key competencies that should be achieved within the first year, and then onward progression towards additional tasks that carried an upscale in pay. Appraisals were used to monitor achievements and work with staff to develop their skills. Staff we spoke to within this role told us they enjoyed the opportunities at the practice and the flexibility to choose training in different aspects of the role.

• The practice had high levels of staff satisfaction. Staff were proud of the organisation as a place to work and spoke highly of the culture of learning and improvement. There were consistently high levels of constructive staff engagement. Staff at all levels were actively involved in identifying learning, and facilitating improvement to quality of care and patients experiences

• The partners and management had an inspired shared purpose, strive to deliver and motivated staff to succeed, including that they were actively supporting the nursing team to progress within their career.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Ensure patients who are carers and who are cared for are pro-actively identified and supported.
• Continue to ensure the care and treatment of all diabetic patients is reviewed, and ensure plans are in place to reduce the exception reporting results.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 21 June 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 and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority.

• 87% of patients with diabetes, on the register, in whom the last blood pressure reading (measured in the preceding 12 months) is 140/80 mmHg or less was comparable with national average 88%.

• Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed.

• 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.

• The practice offered a range of services to people with long term conditions. This included clinics for diabetes, asthma and hypertension.

Updated 21 June 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 relatively high for all standard childhood immunisations.

• Patients told us that children and young people were treated in an age-appropriate way and were recognised as individuals, and we saw evidence to confirm this.

• 87% of women aged 25-64 whose notes record that a cervical screening test has been performed in the preceding 5 years was comparable with national average 82%.

• Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies.

• The practice offered antenatal checks with an on-site midwife, full contraception counselling, and dedicated coil clinics.

• We saw positive examples of joint working with midwives, health visitors and school nurses.

Updated 21 June 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.

• All patients aged over 75 had a named accountable GP.

Updated 21 June 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.

• The practice offered a full range of health promotion and screening that reflects the needs for this age group.

• The practice was proactive in offering online services including booking/cancelling appointments and an electronic prescribing service.

Updated 21 June 2016

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

• 92% of patients diagnosed with dementia who had their care reviewed in a face to face meeting in the last 12 months, which was better than the national average 84%.

• 95% of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and other psychoses who had a comprehensive, agreed care plan documented in the record, in the preceding 12 months was better than the national average 88%.

• 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.

• The practice had a system in place to follow up patients who had attended accident and emergency where they may have been experiencing poor mental health.

• Staff had a good understanding of how to support patients with mental health needs and dementia.

Updated 21 June 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 homeless people, travellers and those with a learning disability.

• The practice offered longer appointments for patients with a learning disability.

• Appointments were offered to patients with no fixed address. Staff told us that they would support those patients by registering them with a temporary address.

• The practice regularly worked with other health care professionals in the case management of vulnerable patients.

• The practice informed vulnerable patients about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.

• 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.