Kingsmead Healthcare

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 service met people’s needs, and that staff treated people equally and without discrimination.

This is the first inspection for this service since its registration with CQC. This key question has been rated as Good.

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 had ensured that people were central to decisions about their care and treatment, working in partnership with them to respond to changes in their needs.Care plans reflected patients’ physical, mental, emotional and social needs, including needs associated with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. All staff had completed the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism. In addition, the provider’s website included a dedicated section for LGBTQ+ patients, providing information about relevant services and sources of support.

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 that the practice worked in partnership with other services to meet the needs of its patient population.

Leaders and staff described how they had ensured information was accessible to as wide an audience as possible. Staff demonstrated an understanding of people’s communication needs and provided examples of how information had been made available in accessible formats, including Braille. People using the service, and where appropriate their families and carers, had been provided with information that was accessible, secure and supportive of their rights and choices.Policies and procedures were in place to ensure that information was tailored to individual needs. This included making reasonable adjustments for disabled people, providing interpreting and translation services for people whose first language was not English, and supporting deaf people who used British Sign Language.The latest national GP Patient Survey found that 98% of respondents felt the healthcare professional they saw had all the information they needed about them during their most recent appointment, compared with 91% locally and 92% nationally.

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.

The latest national GP Patient Survey found that 92% of patients had stated the healthcare professional they last encountered was good at listening to them during their last appointment, compared to 83% locally and 87% nationally.

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.

People could access care, treatment and support when they needed to and in a way that worked for them which was reinforced by a clear and effective approach to managing appointments. This promoted equality, removed barriers or delays and protected their rights. Patients told us they could access clinical care when desired via different avenues. Results from the latest national GP Patient Survey showed the service had been in line with other local practices for the percentage of patients who responded positively to the overall experience of making an appointment and were satisfied with the appointment(s) they were offered. The service’s internal survey had also showed positive results in these areas.Systems were in place to recall and invite patients for childhood immunisations and cervical cancer screening.The service offered telephone, online and face-to-face appointments. Patients could also access extended hours appointments at the service on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays until 8pm, as well as through the Primary Care Network. This provided greater flexibility for patients who needed appointments outside the service’s usual opening hours.

The latest national GP Patient Survey found that 83% of respondents rated their experience of contacting the GP practice as good, compared with 80% locally and 84% nationally. In addition, 92% of respondents found reception and administrative staff helpful, compared with 79% locally and 85% nationally. A total of 56% found it easy to contact the practice through its website, compared with 53% locally and 58% nationally.The survey also found that 83% of patients knew what the next steps would be after contacting the service, with this figure increasing to 94% within two days. These results were above both the local and national averages.The service’s internal patient satisfaction survey reflected similarly positive findings. Of those who responded, 87% were satisfied with the service’s opening times, 82% reported a positive experience when trying to contact the service, and 84% rated their experience of making an appointment as fairly good or very good.Staff and leaders had actively listened to information about people most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and had tailored care, support, and treatment accordingly. Feedback provided by people using the service, both to the provider and to CQC, had been positive. Staff treated people equally and without discrimination. Leaders had proactively sought ways to address barriers to improving people’s experience and had worked with local organisations, including those in the voluntary sector, to address local health inequalities.Staff had understood the importance of providing an inclusive approach to care and made adjustments to support equity in people’s experience and outcomes. The provider had maintained processes to ensure people could register, including those in vulnerable circumstances such as homeless people, Travellers. Staff had used appropriate systems to capture and review feedback from people using the service, including those who did not have access to the internet. The service was accredited as a Safe Surgery and Disability Confident Surgery and was working towards achieving Dementia Friendly Surgery status.

The latest national GP Patient Survey found that 95% of patients had stated they were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment, compared to 89% locally and 92% nationally.

People’s decisions and what mattered to them had been reflected in personalised care plans, which had been shared with others when necessary. The patients we spoke to during the on-site assessment told us they had felt involved in decisions about their care and treatment.