The Potteries

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

People were involved in decisions about their care. They knew how to give feedback and were confident the service took it seriously and acted on it. People received fair and equal care and treatment. The service worked to reduce health and care inequalities through training and feedback. People were involved in planning their care and understood options around preferences and changes in their care.

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.

The service made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

Our review of clinical records showed patients were supported to understand their healthcare conditions and were involved in planning for their care needs.The practice provided care to two local care homes, and feedback from the care home manager was positive. We were told that designated GPs visited the homes weekly to review and support residents, ensuring continuity of care. In addition, the practice pharmacist carried out regular medication reviews, working collaboratively with care home staff to optimise medicines management.

The service understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

We saw the practice worked in partnership with other services to meet the needs of its patient population. The practice had tailored its services to meet the diverse needs of its community, for example, building relationships with Nepalese community groups to promote the uptake of screening programmes.

The recent patient survey results indicated that 76% of the respondents had enough support from local services or organisations in the last 12 months to help manage their long-term conditions or illnesses. This was above the local average of 71% and national average of 69%.

The service supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

The practice had access to interpreter services, including British Sign Language. Information provided by the service met the Accessible Information Standard.

The service made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. They involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result. For example, the recent patient survey results suggested that 98% of respondents were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment during their last general practice appointment.

We saw complaints were managed in line with the practice’s policy. Learning from complaints was evident and staff were able to identify changes made as a result of patient feedback, including complaints.

The service made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it. The practice enabled patients to submit routine and urgent appointment requests digitally. Patients were encouraged to use the online appointment request form independently and, the reception staff were also able to complete forms on behalf of patients over the phone to ensure equitable access.

The recent patient survey results indicated that 58% found it easy to contact this GP practice using their website. This was more than the local and national average of 51%. In addition, 75% of the respondents knew what the next step would be after contacting their GP practice (although we noted this was lower than the respective 83% local and 84% national averages)

The PPG members provided mixed feedback regarding access. Their feedback suggested that accessing appointments through the online tools remained challenging for patients who were not digitally confident. The practice was actively working with these groups to improve their experience to access services and to strengthen patient understanding of access routes, through clear multichannel communications including posters, waiting rooms videos, newsletters and PPG engagement.

Appointment capacity was actively managed through a balanced mix of same day, routine and extended hours appointments. This was regularly reviewed to ensure it reflects patient demand.

There was a monthly PPG newsletter produced collaboratively by the practice and the PPG members and was available on the practice website. The newsletter provided a range of useful information for patients.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

Feedback provided by people using the service, both to the provider as well as to CQC, was mostly positive. Staff understood the importance of providing an inclusive approach to care and made adjustments to support equity in people’s experience and outcomes. Theyused appropriate systems to capture and review feedback from people using the service, including those who did not speak English or have access to the internet.

The triage system helped ensure patients were offered the most appropriate appointment based on their assessed needs. For example, patients were directed to pharmacists, social prescribers, nurses or paramedics where suitable. Patients were also signposted to the local urgent care centre or the Pharmacy First service when clinically appropriate.

Patients were able to use the online system to request appointments, for prescription requests and medical advice. During the onsite visit we noted that there were still appointments available that day for patients.

The practice worked in partnership with other services within the PCN (Primary Care Network). Extended access appointments were available for patients who were unable to attend during the core hours.

Patients living in a care home had a ward round on a weekly basis from a GP. Housebound patients were offered appointments with the paramedic at the practice.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

Our records review showed people were supported to consider their wishes for their end-of-life care, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This information was shared with other services when necessary.

The practice held registers for a number of different patient groups, this included those with learning disabilities, mental health conditions and also those on end-of-life care. They were regularly reviewed and updated to ensure these patients were supported.

The practice had built strong relationships with 2 local care home and local learning disability care homes whose residents were registered as patients with the practice.