The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

The Plane Trees Group Practice

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

51 Sandbeds Road, Pellon, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX2 0QL (01422) 330860

Provided and run by:
The Plane Trees Group Practice

All Inspections

5 January 2024

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out a targeted assessment of The Plane Trees Group Practice in relation to the responsive key question. This assessment was carried out on 5 January 2024 without a site visit. Overall, the practice is rated as Good. We rated the key question of responsive as Good.

Safe - Good

Effective – Good

Caring - Good

Responsive – Good

Well-led – Good

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for the The Plane Trees Group Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

We carried out this assessment as part of our work to understand how practices are working to try to meet demand for access and to better understand the experiences of people who use services and providers.

We recognise the work that GP practices have been engaged in to continue to provide safe, quality care to the people they serve. We know colleagues are doing this while demand for general practice remains exceptionally high, with more appointments being provided than ever. In this challenging context, access to general practice remains a concern for people. Our strategy makes a commitment to deliver regulation driven by people’s needs and experiences of care. These assessments of the responsive key question include looking at what practices are doing innovatively to improve patient access to primary care and sharing this information to drive improvement.

How we carried out the inspection

This inspection was carried out remotely.

This included:

  • Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
  • Requesting evidence from the provider.

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

We found that:

  • Patients who responded to the National GP Survey stated it was easy to contact the practice and responded positively to the overall experience of making an appointment.
  • The practice was below national average for patients who were satisfied with appointment times and the appointment they were offered.
  • Since the National GP Survey the practice had made improvements to their appointments system, this had resulted in a significant increase in appointments offered.
  • The practice used performance data to target and improve access.
  • The practice understood the needs of its local population and had carried out an in-depth analysis of their patient population and developed services accordingly.
  • The practice had worked collaboratively within its primary care network and GP federation to ensure additional types of appointments and extended hours were available.
  • The practice dealt with complaints in a timely manner and learned from them.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

  • Continue to develop solutions to provide better access to their patients.

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 Healthcare

23 March 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced inspection at Plane Trees Group Practice on 23 March 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

We found the practice to be good for providing caring, safe and responsive, well led and effective services. It was also good for providing services for older people, people with long term conditions, families, children and young people and the working age population.

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

  • Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
  • Risks to patients were assessed and managed, including those relating to recruitment checks.
  • Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
  • 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. Complaints would be addressed in a timely manner and the practice endeavoured to resolve complaints to a satisfactory conclusion.
  • Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that 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.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice