The Hawkinge & Elham Valley Practice

Updated 24 October 2022

The Hawkinge & Elham Valley Practice is located at:

Old Road

Elham

Canterbury

CT4 6UH

The practice is in the town of Hawkinge which has a population of about 8,000 people. The provider is registered with CQC to deliver the Regulated Activities; diagnostic and screening

procedures, maternity and midwifery services, family planning, surgical procedures and treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

The Hawkinge & Elham Valley Practice is within the NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB) and provides services to approximately 9,700 patients under the terms of a general medical services (GMS) contract. This is a contract between general practices and NHS England for delivering services to the local community.

There are two GP partners, both male. There are three salaried GPs, one female. There is an advance practice nurse, a specialist diabetic nurse, two practice nurses, two assistant practitioners and a healthcare assistant, a paramedic and a pharmacist. The clinical team is supported by a practice a manager, a clinical services manager, and an administration and a reception team.

The Hawkinge & Elham Valley Practice has been accredited as being suitable for the training of Foundation Year 2 (FY2) doctors and GP speciality training doctors (GPst3) by NHS Health Education Kent Surrey and Sussex. The practice is currently training medical students.

The practice population ethnic profile is predominantly White British. The practice catchment area is classed as being one of the less deprived areas in England. The practice scored eight out of ten on the deprivation measurement scale, where one is the most deprived. The average male life expectancy for the practice area is 80 years which is higher than the national average of 79 years; female life expectancy is 83 years which is the same as the national average.

Due to the enhanced infection prevention and control measures put in place since the pandemic and in line with the national guidance, most GP appointments were telephone consultations. If the GP needs to see a patient face-to-face then the patient is offered a choice of either the main GP location or the branch surgery. Extended access is provided by NHS 111.

Updated 24 October 2022

We carried out an announced focused inspection at The Hawkinge & Elham Valley Practice on 6 and 7 September 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as good.

Safe - Good

Effective - Good

Caring – Not inspected

Responsive – Not inspected

Well-led - Good

Following our previous inspection on 29 July 2021, the practice was rated Requires Improvement overall and for safe, effective and well led. The practice was rated good for caring and responsive.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Hawkinge & Elham Valley Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

How we carried out the inspection

Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently.

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.

This included:

• Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing
• Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system and discussing findings with the provider
• Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider
• Requesting evidence from the provider
• A short site visit

Our findings

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

• what we found when we inspected
• information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
• Responsibilities, roles and systems of accountability to support good governance and management were clear.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• The practice adjusted how it delivered services to meet the needs of patients during the Covid-19 pandemic. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.

information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations

We have rated this practice as Good overall.

We found that:

• Patients’ needs were assessed, and care and treatment was delivered in line with current legislation, standards and evidence-based guidance.
• The practice’s processes for managing risks, issues and performance were effective.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services