Meanwhile Garden Medical Centre

On this page

• 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

We carried out an announced assessment of one quality statement, equity of access, on 15 March 2024. We found that feedback from patients via the national GP patient survey was positive about access to the service. There was a focus on enabling patients to access care in ways that suited them, for example, via the self-booking system. The provider had used information from complaints to improve processes.

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.

Patients could make appointments with the practice via telephone or in person. Patients were also able to book their own appointments via the practice’s online system. Appointment requests were reviewed and triaged to ensure patients saw the most appropriate member of the healthcare team, for example, GP, advanced nurse practitioner, healthcare assistant, physiotherapist, or clinical pharmacist. Home visits could be requested by patients who were housebound. We reviewed the practice’s appointment system and found the next available GP and nurse appointments were 18 March 2024 (the next working day). The practice was open from 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday. Extended access appointments were available outside of these hours via NHS 111.

Leaders demonstrated they had taken action to improve patient access. Approximately 2 years ago the practice installed a new telephone system. Prior to this, the old telephone system provided very little data about incoming calls. The new system provided live data about waiting times, queue lengths and missed calls. The provider told us they used this data to allocate staff to answer telephones during busy periods and attempted to contact all patients who had hung up the telephone before their call was answered. The practice was registered as a safe surgery which meant patients did not need ID or proof of address to register with the practice. This initiative supported patients, particularly migrants in vulnerable circumstances, to access care. Leaders were aware there had been complaints about a delayed response to complaints. The provider had completed a significant event analysis to identify how the delay occurred and had put processes in place to prevent re-occurrence. The provider told us they had acted on feedback from patients. For example, patients had requested a reminder before their appointments. The practice then implemented a process where they sent a text message reminder 2 days before an appointment (for those booked in advance). There was also the option to send a text message reminder on the morning of the appointment. Staff told us they met with other practice managers within the primary care network (PCN) once per week to discuss challenges and share ideas for best practice.

The GP patient survey showed patient satisfaction was higher than average regarding access to the practice via telephone, appointment times, appointment type and overall experience of making an appointment. There were 2 comments shared directly with CQC both referencing complaints made to the practice that had not been responded to. Feedback directly from patients was positive about the service provided. We heard that the process for accessing appointments was straightforward and leaders encouraged feedback from patients.

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.