Archived: The Smethwick Medical Centre

Updated 27 August 2014

The Smethwick Medical Centre is located in Smethwick, West Midlands with a branch surgery Hollybush Medical Centre 3 miles away in Quinton, Birmingham.  The branch surgery was not part of this inspection.  The practice provides primary medical services for approximately 10,000 patients. 

The practice has five GP partners and two salaried GPs.  They employ a wide range of staff including four advanced nurse practitioners, three practice nurses, two specialist nurses in diabetes and an older adults case manager, four community nurses, a health care assistant in the practice and a community health care assistant.  The clinical team is complimented by a practice manager and team of reception and administration staff.

The practice service for out of hours care is via the NHS 111 service.

Updated 27 August 2014

The Smethwick Medical Centre provides a range of primary medical services for approximately 10,000 patients.  Services are provided from their main two storey building in Smethwick and their branch surgery at the Hollybush Medical Centre in Quinton three miles away. This inspection was carried out at the Smethwick Medical Centre main surgery.   The practice is part of the ‘Vitality Partnership’ which is an extended partnership of practices in central Birmingham and the border of Sandwell.

Prior to our inspection we spoke with patients during a listening event held locally and a representative of the Patient Participation Group (PPG).  This is a group of patients from the practice who seek the views of patients regarding the service and work with the practice to develop plans to address areas where improvements could be made.   We also spoke with the local area team from NHS England, the local Clinical Commission Group (CCG) and the local medical committee.  During our inspection we spoke with staff and patients attending the practice that day.

We found that the practice was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.  There were robust systems and processes in place to ensure the safety of patients and staff.  The practice was committed to learning from when things went wrong and engaged in significant event and clinical audit.  Clinical audit is a way of finding out if healthcare has been provided in line with recommended standards. 

Patients we spoke with at the practice reported that the practice was caring and that they were treated with respect.  The majority of patients reported satisfaction with the care they received from the practice but there were concerns expressed regarding difficulty in getting appointments.  This has been an area where the practice have been working over a period of time with the PPG and have implemented actions to improve access.

The practice were proactive in identifying the needs of the practice population and had analysed data and implemented changes to how services were delivered as a result. The practice offered services to include provision of health care to all population groups. 

There was a specific GP with an interest in care of older people and mental health. We found that patients with long term conditions were managed effectively. 

The practice offered facilities for young children and mothers for support and advice and opportunity to take up national screening programmes for immunisation and cervical screening.  There were extended opening hours and online appointments to provide improved access to services for those patients who work.  The practice had systems in place to identify vulnerable people and those with mental health problems who may need additional support and referral to more specialised services. 

Please note that when referring to information throughout this report, for example any reference to the Quality and Outcomes Framework data, this relates to the most recent information available to the CQC at that time.

Updated 27 August 2014

The practice had a systematic approach for identifying patients and managing patients with long term conditions. Specific clinics were held to ensure patients had access to annual review and opportunity to discuss their condition when education and change of management was necessary. The practice and community nurses offered ongoing management and support to patients with long term conditions and communication between all disciplines was evident.

Updated 27 August 2014

The practice had a midwife who attended the practice weekly to deal with women during pregnancy.  Smoking advice and education regarding pregnancy and childbirth were provided during this time.  The practice offered child health clinics at both surgeries to provide medical checks, immunisation and development reviews for babies with both the GP and health visitor as well as advice and support for new mothers.

Postnatal screening and cervical screening was also offered in line with the national programme together with signposting to other services where necessary.

Updated 27 August 2014

The practice had a proactive approach to meeting the needs of older people.  There were GPs with special interest in the elderly and had developed services within the practice to promote care and improve care for elderly patients with dementia and other mental health problems.  The practice had a systematic method of identifying patients with specific conditions and adopted care according to patient’s personal need and physical and mental capacity.  The practice employed their own staff with specific roles in care of the elderly.

Updated 27 August 2014

The practice offered extended appointments between 6pm and 8pm two evenings per week to allow patients who work to access health care.  There were also facilities to allow patients who work to request a call back to discuss their problem with a GP or advanced nurse practitioner and determine if an appointment is necessary.

Online booking and repeat prescription requests were also available to provide more opportunity to attend the practice for those people who worked.

Updated 27 August 2014

There were GPs in the practice with a special interest in mental health who worked with other services to provide an holistic approach to care involving specialists.  They also offered the service of an onsite counsellor and had access to a drug and alcohol counsellor to support patients with addictions.  This allowed patients direct access to additional support without being referred to outside agencies.

Updated 27 August 2014

The practice had a system for identifying patients with learning disabilities and offered annual physical health checks.  They also had a register of carers to support and signpost to alternative support agencies where necessary.

The practice offered temporary resident care for those patients with no fixed address and provided immediate necessary treatment where appropriate.  Advice and signposting was offered where necessary.