Archived: Howard Medical Practice

Updated 14 June 2016

Howard Medical Practice provides primary medical services in Glossop, Tameside from Monday to Friday. The surgery is open Monday to Friday 8:00am to 6:30pm and closed Thursday afternoons.

Appointments with a GP are available:

Monday 9:00am to 11:50am and 3:30pm to 5:50pm.

Tuesday 9:00am to 11:50am and 3:30pm to 5:50pm.

Wednesday 9:00am to 11:50am and 3:30pm to 5:50pm.

Thursday 9:00am to 11:50am.

Friday 9:00am to 11:50am and 3:30pm to 5:50pm.

The practice participated in a local extended hours scheme in which patients could access appointments with a GP at a local hub between 6:30pm and 8:00pm Monday to Friday and Saturday mornings.

Glossop is situated within the geographical area of Tameside and Glossop Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

Howard Medical Practice is responsible for providing care to 3485 patients.

The practice is a single handed GP practice consisting of one female GP, Dr S Vuyyuru and assisted by a long term part time, locum GP, a nurse and health care assistants. The practice is supported by a new practice manager, receptionists and administrators.

When the practice is closed patients are directed to the out of hours service.

Updated 14 June 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Howard Medical Practice on 5 May 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well 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.

• Data showed patient outcomes were in line with or above those locally and nationally.
• Feedback from patients about their care was consistently and strongly positive.

• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.

• The practice implemented suggestions for improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a result of feedback from patients.

• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.

• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment, with 100% of patients who completed the GP National Patient Survey saying they could easily get through on the telephone. Patients told us that there was continuity of care, with routine appointments usually available within 72 hours and 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, which it acted on.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 14 June 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with long-term conditions.

• The nursing had a lead role in chronic disease management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority, working closely with the GP.
• Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed.
• Weekly Asthma, Diabetes, COPD and INR clinics we provided by the nurse
• In-house diabetic foot screening was provided for patients on a monthly basis.
• Where appropriate patients with more than one long-term condition were able to access a joint review to prevent them having to make multiple appointments.
• All these patients had a structured annual review to check that their health and medicines needs were being met. For patients with complex needs, Dr S Vuyyuru and the practice nurse worked with relevant community and healthcare professionals to deliver multidisciplinary support and care. Multidisciplinary meetings were held to review patients’ needs and to avoid hospital admissions.
• Patients with COPD and asthma had self-management plans and access to medication at home for acute exacerbations and were directed to a structured education programme.

Updated 14 June 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of families, children and young people.

• There were systems in place to identify and follow up children living in disadvantaged circumstances and who were at risk, for example, children and young people who had a high number of A&E attendances. Immunisation rates were relatively high for all standard childhood immunisations.
• Patients told us that children and young people were treated in an age-appropriate way and were recognised as individuals, and we saw evidence to confirm this.
• Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies. The practice also arranged double or triple appointments where a parent needed to attend with more than one child.
• We saw good examples of joint working with midwives and health visitors. A midwife held weekly antenatal clinics.

Updated 14 June 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people.

• The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population.
• It was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits, extended appointments and urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs.
• The GP carried out regular reviews of all our patients who were in residential care.
• The practice worked with the community paramedic who supported the practice in meeting the needs of vulnerable patients such as those at risk of unplanned hospital admissions.
• The practice embraced the Gold Standards Framework for end of life care. This included supporting patients’ choice to receive end of life care at home.

Updated 14 June 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of working-age people (including those recently retired and students).

• The needs of the working age population, those recently retired and students had been identified and the practice had adjusted the services it offered to ensure these were accessible, flexible and offered continuity of care.
• Appointments were available outside of normal working hours, with one evening surgery and two early mornings. A telephone triage system was in place for same day appointments.
• The practice was proactive in offering online services as well as a full range of health promotion and screening that reflects the needs for this age group. This included a weekly weight management session, a Healthy Minds clinic and Healthy Living sessions once . The Citizen Advice Bureau (CAB) also held a weekly drop in session at the surgery.

Updated 14 June 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).

• 85.71% of patients diagnosed with dementia had their care reviewed in a face to face meeting in the last 12 months.
• 93.75% of patients with poor mental health had a comprehensive care plan documented in the record agreed between individuals, their family and/or carers as appropriate. We were shown anonymous examples of mental health care plans and noted theses were detailed and personalised. For those patients unable to attend the practice GPs would carry out home visits to complete care plans.
• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of patients experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia.
• It carried out advance care planning for patients with dementia.
• The practice had told patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations. The practice promoted self-referral to the local “Healthy Minds” service and also accommodated weekly Healthy Minds sessions at the practice for patients to access.
• It had a system in place to follow up patients who may have been experiencing poor mental health and had attended accident and emergency.
• Staff had a good understanding of how to support people with mental health needs and dementia.

Updated 14 June 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.

• The practice held a register of patients living in vulnerable circumstances including those with a learning disability. Vulnerable patients were identifiable with alerts noted on the secure computer system to ensure staff were alerted to their needs. Double appointments were routinely provided.
• Annual reviews were provided for patients with learning disabilities, using a nationally recognised tool.
• The practice was proactive in monitoring those patients identified as vulnerable or at risk. This included, monitoring A&E attendances, monitoring missed appointments from those known to be vulnerable and working with other services to ensure, where appropriate, information was shared to keep patients safe.
• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable people.
• It had told vulnerable patients about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.
• Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse in vulnerable adults and children. Staff were aware of their responsibilities regarding information sharing, documentation of safeguarding concerns and how to contact relevant agencies in normal working hours and out of hours.