Stockingford Medical Centre

Updated 25 May 2016

Stockingford Medical Centre is located in the Stockingford area district of Nuneaton. The practice is run as a partnership and provides primary medical services to patients in a suburban and semi-rural area.

The practice was formed in the 1960s and moved to its current purpose built facility in the 1970s.

There were 2,600 patients registered with the practice at the time of the inspection. This includes a large number of families with children, elderly people and Polish and South Asian communities.

Stockingford Medical Centre has a General Medical Services (GMS) contract with NHS England. The GMS contract is the contract between general practices and NHS England for delivering primary care services to local communities.

The practice has two partner GPs (male and female), a practice nurse and a health care assistant. They are supported by a practice manager and administrative and reception staff.

The practice is open from 8.30am to 6pm during the week. Appointments are available from 8.30 am to 11.30am and from 2.30pm to 5.30pm, except on Wednesdays when there is no afternoon session. Extended hours appointments are not currently offered. The practice had previously provided these but found there was little patient demand. This is kept under review by the practice. When the practice is closed, patients can access out of hours care provided by Care UK through NHS 111. The practice has a recorded message on its telephone system to advise patients. This information is also available on the practice’s website and in the patient practice leaflet.

Home visits are available for patients who are unable to attend the practice for appointments. There is also an online service which allows patients to order repeat prescriptions and book new appointments without having to telephone the practice. Telephone appointments are available for patients who were unable to reach the practice during normal working hours.

The practice treats patients of all ages and provides a range of medical services. This includes minor surgery and disease management such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease. Other appointments are available for blood tests, maternity care, family planning and smoking cessation.

Updated 25 May 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Stockingford Medical Centre on 19 April 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• Urgent same day patient appointments were available when needed. All patients we spoke with and those who completed comment cards before our inspection said they were always able to obtain same day appointments.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care delivered in line with current guidelines. Staff had the appropriate skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand. Complaints were reviewed to ensure lessons were learned to minimise the risk of a recurrence.
• Patients told us they said they were treated with dignity, respect and compassion. Patients were involved decisions about their care and treatment.
• Patients said GPs gave them enough time.
• There were clearly defined processes and procedures to ensure patients were safe and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events. They were fully reviewed at every staff meeting.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.

However there was an area where the provider should make improvement:

• A procedure should be in place to ensure that when patient safety alerts were discussed in practice meetings, a record of the discussion was made.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 25 May 2016

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

• Patients had a named GP and an annual review to monitor their condition and ensure they received correct medicines.

• All patients with a long term condition were invited for an annual review in the month of their birth. The practice found this simplified the call/recall system as patients were more aware of when their review was due. Attendance had increased as a result.

• Nursing staff had received appropriate training in chronic disease management.

• Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed.

• The practice had organised occasional information evenings for patients with diabetes. This had included the diabetic specialist nurse from the local hospital who delivered an informal talk to the patients regarding this condition.

Updated 25 May 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of families, children and young people.

• Systems were in place to identify children and young people who might be at risk, for example, those who had a high number of A&E attendances.

• A total of 76% of eligible patients had received cervical screening in the last 12 months. This was slightly below the national average of 81%.

• There were appointments outside of school hours and the practice building was suitable for children and babies.

• Outcomes for areas such as child vaccinations and cervical screening were in line with or above average for the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

• We saw positive examples of joint working with midwives. The practice ran baby clinics and offered appointments with the midwife who visited the practice weekly.

• Family planning services were available.

Updated 25 May 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people.

• Older patients were given personalised care which reflected their needs.

• Over the last 12 months all patients aged 75 and over had been invited for a health check. This included blood tests, fracture assessment, frailty assessment, and checks for depression and dementia. From those checks, the practice identified patients who needed further investigation and referred them appropriately.

• Home visits were offered to patients who could not reach the practice.

• Nationally reported data showed that outcomes for patients were good for conditions commonly found in older people.

• Care plans were in place with the most vulnerable older patients and used with multi-disciplinary teams to reduce unplanned hospital admissions.

Updated 25 May 2016

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

• The practice ensured it provided services to meet the needs of the working age population, For example, the recent introduction of additional same day appointments that could be booked online.

• Telephone consultations were available for patients who were unable to reach the practice during the day.

• Although the practice had previously found there was little demand for extended hours opening, this was kept under review.

Updated 25 May 2016

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

• The practice worked with multi-disciplinary teams to provide appropriate care for patients with poor mental health. This included patients with dementia.

• Patients who were diagnosed with depression received a follow up from a GP within eight weeks of diagnosis.

• Patients were signposted to appropriate local and national support groups.

• Staff demonstrated a good working knowledge of how to support patients with mental health needs and dementia.

Updated 25 May 2016

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

• The practice supported vulnerable patients to access various support groups and voluntary organisations. For example, for armed forces veterans, the practice prioritised patients if their complaint was regarding an illness or injury sustained during duty. The practice also provided details of a veteran’s agency where such patients could obtain further help.

• Longer appointments were available for patients with a learning disability.

• There was a register of vulnerable patients including those with a learning disability.

• The practice worked with other health care professionals to provide care to vulnerable patients, for example, the district nursing team.

• Staff could recognise signs of abuse in vulnerable adults and children. Staff were aware of their responsibilities to share appropriate information, record safeguarding concerns and how to contact relevant agencies in normal working hours and out of hours.

• The practice had confidentiality waivers for patients that may be vulnerable to ensure there was a friend or relative that could be contacted if the practice had any concerns or needed to relay information that might not have been easily understood by the patient.