South Hornchurch Medical Practice

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

We looked for evidence that the practice met people’s needs, and that staff treated people equally and without discrimination.

This is the first inspection for this provider following its registration with CQC in July 2021.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Patients feedback demonstrated they understood their options for care, support and treatment and were able to make informed choices and decisions. National patient survey feedback showed 91% of patients stated they were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment. Care plans addressed patients’ physical, mental, and social needs, including those linked to protected characteristics. Patients’ clinical records showed they were supported to understand their condition and actively involved in planning and decision-making about their care.

The service understood the health and care needs of people and their local communities. We saw the service worked in partnership with other agencies to meet the needs of its patient population. The service had tailored its practices to meet the diverse needs of its community, for example, events informing people about dementia awareness, and long-term health conditions. There were established mechanisms for engaging with the community healthcare providers.

The service provided accurate, up-to-date information tailored to individual needs, including materials in multiple languages to support screening and immunisation uptake. Interpreter practices, including British Sign Language, were available. Information provided by the service met the Accessible Information Standard, and patients were informed about how to access their care records. National patient survey feedback from patients demonstrated 97% were aware of what the next step would be within 2 days of contacting the practice.

Staff encouraged people to share feedback, ideas, and complaints and communicated changes made as a result. The manager oversaw complaints in line with policy, and staff could demonstrate learning and improvements based on peoples’ feedback.

National patient survey feedback showed staff ensured patients could mostly access the care, support, and treatment they needed in a timely way. For example, 80% stated their experience of contacting the practice was good overall and 76% stated it was easy to contact the practice on the phone. In response to National GP Patient Survey results and community feedback, the provider had made changes to improve practice access. For example, employed an advanced nurse practitioner, an additional pharmacist, upskilled the practice nurse to enable them to prescribe, increased specialist diabetic nurse clinics and expanded the blood test clinics.

National patient survey feedback was positive, 93% of patients stated their needs were met. Leaders worked and collaborated with local organisations to tackle health inequalities in the local population. The provider had systems in place to support registration for vulnerable groups, including homeless people and travellers. Staff had completed training to enable them to understand the needs of people who were most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes.

Staff identified and supported patients nearing the end of life, including those with protected characteristics or in vulnerable circumstances. Staff worked with other agencies to enable patients to make informed decisions about their future. Patient’s preferences were captured in care plans and shared with relevant agencies. Staff supported individuals to express and revise decisions about resuscitation.