Drayton Medical Practice

Updated 5 August 2016

• The practice is a dispensing, urban, and rural practice situated to the north of Norwich. The practice area includes the residential suburbs of Norwich and extends into the outlying villages. To cover this area, there are three fully equipped surgeries, Drayton, Horsford, and Horsham St Faith. The practice offers consultation space for GPs and nurses as well as extended attached professionals including midwives, physiotherapists, and phlebotomists.

• There are currently seven GP Partners and two salaried GPs at the practice (four female and five male GPs). There are also three nurse practitioners, seven practice nurses, and five healthcare assistants. There are nine members of the dispensing team.

• A team of 26 administration and reception staff support the managing partner and the operations manager.

• The practice is open between 8am and 6.30pm Monday to Friday, extended hours are available on Monday morning and evening and the first three Saturdays in each month.

• If the practice is closed, patients are asked to call the NHS111 service or to dial 999 in the event of a life threatening emergency.

• The practice profile for age range of patients is comparable to the national average. However, the deprivation score is below the England average. Unemployment in the practice population is lower than the England average, the percentage of patients who provide unpaid care is in line with the national average.

• Male and female life expectancy in this area is in line with the England average at 81 years for men and 83 years for women.

Updated 5 August 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Drayton Medical Practice on 14 June 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.

• The practice used a range of assessments to manage the risks to patients; they were assessed and well managed.

• Practice 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 relatively easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.

• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.

• 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.

• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 5 August 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.

• Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed this included for patients with a learning disability that lived in care homes.

• 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.

• Daily anticoagulation (INR) clinics were run at the practice, enabling all patients to access this service at times convenient to them.

Updated 5 August 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.

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

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

Updated 5 August 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.

• Over 300 patients lived in care homes, the practice proactively care for these patients and undertook regularly visits to the homes.

• Home visits were available for patients who needed them to ensure that they received their annual reviews and flu immunisations.

Updated 5 August 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, 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 was proactive in offering online services as well as a full range of health promotion and screening that reflects the needs for this age group.

• The practice offered appointments with GPs and nurses on Saturday mornings enabling patients that could not attend during the weekdays to access appointments.

Updated 5 August 2016

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

• The practice had 206 patients diagnosed with dementia on the register. 78% of these patients had received an annual review. Many of the remaining 22% lived in care homes and had GP reviews throughout the year. The reviews included advance care planning.

• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of patients experiencing poor mental health, including those 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. They undertook reviews of patients who had died and had a history of experiencing poor mental health.

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

Updated 5 August 2016

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

• There was a lead GP and 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.

• 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.

• Practice staff had received additional training in domestic abuse awareness and 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.