Northway Medical Centre

Updated 11 May 2017

Northway Medical Centre is a long established practice located in the Sedgley area of Dudley in the West Midlands. There are approximately 5740 patients of various ages registered and cared for at the practice. Services to patients are provided under a General Medical Services (GMS) contract with NHS England. The practice has expanded its contracted obligations to provide enhanced services to patients. An enhanced service is above the contractual requirement of the practice and is commissioned to improve the range of services available to patients.

The clinical team includes two GP partners (male and female), a male salaried GP, a nurse practitioner and three health care assistants. The GP partners, practice manager and assistant practice manager form the practice management team and they are supported by a team of 12 staff members who cover reception, secretarial, data analysis and administration roles.

The practice is open for appointments between 8am and 6:30pm during weekdays. The practice offers extended hours on Mondays between 6:30pm and 7:30pm. 

Updated 11 May 2017

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Northway Medical Centre on 14 April 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.

• Staff were aware of their responsibilities to raise and report concerns, incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, reviewed and addressed. The practice had clearly defined and embedded systems, processes and practices in place to keep people safe and safeguarded from abuse.

• Staff regularly conducted reports and analysed data through ongoing reviews and audit work.

• Staff worked with multidisciplinary teams to understand and meet the range and complexity of patients’ needs. Staff we spoke with said they felt valued, supported and that they felt involved in the practices plans.

• There were some arrangements for managing and mitigating risk. However, we identified that actions within the legionella risk assessment had not been completed.

• The practice offered a range of clinical services which included care for long term conditions and services were planned and delivered to take into account the needs of different patient groups to ensure flexibility, choice and continuity of care.

• We observed the premises to be visibly clean and tidy. Information for patients about the services available was easy to understand, accessible and available in a variety of formats.

• We found some gaps in the record keeping for staff files such as no record of references and registration with the appropriate professional body for the locum GP and were no records of disclosure and barring checks (DBS checks) for the healthcare assistants. We saw records to demonstrate that the practice had signed up to a group scheme and that they were in the early stages of having staff members DBS checked.

• Prescription stationery was securely stored, however the practice did not have a system in place to track and monitor the use of the prescription pads used for home visits.

• The practice had an active patient participation group which influenced practice development.

However there were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

• Improve the overall management of Human Resources; ensure that robust recruitment procedures are in place for all staff as required, prior to working at the practice.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

• Ensure that the actions identified within the legionella risk assessment are completed as required to continue to manage potential risks.

• Ensure that prescription pads used for home visits are adequately tracked and monitored in line with national guidance.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 9 June 2016

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

• The practice offered a range of clinical services which included care for long term conditions.

• Performance for overall diabetes related indicators was 98% compared to the CCG average of 89% the national average of 88%.

• Nursing staff had lead roles in chronic disease management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority.
• Practice data highlighted that flu vaccinations for those patients in the at risk groups was 80%, compared to the national average of 52%. 

Updated 9 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.

• Childhood immunisation rates for under two year olds ranged from 80% to 100% compared to the CCG averages which ranged from 40% to 100%.

• Immunisation rates for five year olds ranged from 98% to 100% compared to the CCG average of 94% to 98%.
• The practice offered urgent access appointments for children

Updated 9 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.

• It was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs.

• Clinical staff carried out home visits for older patients and patients who would benefit from these. Immunisations such as flu vaccines were also offered to vulnerable patients at home, who could not attend the surgery.
• Practice data highlighted that flu vaccination rates for the over 65s was 80%, compared to the national average of 73%.

Updated 9 June 2016

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

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

• The practice’s uptake for the cervical screening programme was 83%, compared to the national average of 81%.

• Appointments could be booked over the telephone, face to face and online. The practice also offered telephone consultations with a GP at times to suit patients. The practice offered text messaging reminders for appointments to remind patients of their appointments in advance.
• The practice offered extended hours on Mondays until 7:30pm. The practice nurses also offered nurse services during extended hours for those who could not attend the practice during core hours.

Updated 9 June 2016

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

• There were longer appointments available at flexible times for people experiencing poor mental health. The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of people experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia.

• Data showed that diagnosis rates for patients identified with dementia was 99% compared to the CCG and national average of 95%.

• Practice data highlighted that 7% of their patients diagnosed with dementia had care plans in place and 72% had received a review within the last 12 months. The practice continued to work on this through conducting regular data analysis work and implementing actions for improvement.
• Performance for mental health related indicators was 96% compared to the CCG average of 96% and national average of 93%. 

Updated 9 June 2016

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

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

• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable people. It had told vulnerable patients about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.

• Information was available in a variety of formats including practice leaflets in large print and brail for people with a visual impairment.
• The practice worked with the local Dudley Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) team to help to provide social support to their patients who were living in vulnerable or isolated circumstances.