Bewdley Medical Centre

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.

We rated this key question as Good.

This service scored 79 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The practice made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices. Patients had access to appointments provided by a range of clinicians. The practice used patient feedback to identify areas for improvement and made necessary adjustments to ensure patient care was optimum.

Data from the National GP Patient Survey showed that 90% of respondents felt theywere involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment during their last general practice appointment, which was in line with the national average of 91%. In addition, 72% of respondents said the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at considering their mental wellbeing during their last appointment which was in line with the national average of 74%.

Friends and Family Test data was reviewed monthly and the latest Friends and Family Test data found 97% of patients surveyed found their care at the practice to be either ‘Very Good’ or ‘Good.’

The practice understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity. The practice worked in partnership with other services to endeavour to meet the needs of its patient population.

For example, the practice held regular multi-disciplinary team meetings with other healthcare professionals; and information about patients care and treatment needs was available to share between services as required.

National GP Patient Survey results highlighted 67% of patients felt they have had enough support from local services or organisations in the last 12 months to help manage their long-term conditions or illnesses which in line with the national average of 69%.

The practice supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. Information provided by the service met the Accessible Information Standard. The practice had access to interpreter services, including British Sign Language and the practice website was available in 10 different languages. Patients were informed about how to access their care records.

89% of respondents from the National GP Patient Survey felt the healthcare professional they saw had all the information they needed about them during their last general practice appointment. In addition, 83% of patients reported they knew what the next step would be after contacting the practice.

A range of health and wellbeing leaflets and posters were on display in the waiting area for patient information. Leaders told us they had refreshed the notice boards to make them more visible in the practice and had assigned nominated staff members their own notice boards to keep up to date.

In addition, the practice provided information for patients on social media, the practice website, screens within the patient waiting area, and via articles produced for the Bewdley ‘Bridge’ magazine which distributed a magazine to 5000 households in the local community each month.

The practice made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas about their care and treatment. Feedback could be given verbally or in writing.

We discussed with leaders, changes that had been made as a result of feedback from patients. Staff told us they had reviewed the telephone system and changed the queue buster system from ‘5th’ to ‘3rd’ position in the queue for patients to be able to request an automatic call-back.

The practice listened to patient preferences when making decisions about their care. The National GP Patient Survey data reported 86%of respondents said the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at listening to them during their last general practice appointment, which was in line with the national average of 87%.

The practice had a complaints policy, and the Site Manager was the lead for handling complaints. Patients could make a complaint verbally, via the practice website, or by writing to the practice. The complaints process was advertised by leaflets and posters within the practice, and on the practice website. Patients were signposted to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) if they were not satisfied with the outcome of the complaint.

We saw evidence that complaints were audited annually across the Wyre Forest Health Partnership. The numbers of complaints per practice were analysed and trends and themes were identified. The practice had received 30 complaints in the last 12 months, and we found they had been addressed appropriately.

Complaints were discussed during practice meetings and the lessons learnt were shared with staff. Clinicians shared an example of learning from a complaint relating to a post-natal check appointment. In response to this complaint, clinicians reviewed the post-natal process and developed an information sheet for patients to be sent out to them prior to their appointment. Practice management shared an example of a complaint relating to an incident of incorrect information being given to a patient by newly employed reception staff. In response to this complaint, the practice developed a matrix document for staff to refer to with details of various appointment durations; and provided a training session for receptionists. Leaders told us as a result, there had been a reduction in the number of patient complaints relating to communication issues.

The practice was open from 8.00am to 18:30pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; and 8:00am to 20:00pm on Wednesday. Patients could receive extended access appointments from the Wyre Forest Health Partnership Monday to Friday from 18:30pm to 20:00pm; and Saturday 9:00am to 15:00pm.

Various appointment types were available such as in person, online or telephone consultations. A duty GP undertook the patient triage process.

The practice routinely analysed telephone statistics to assess practice performance and identify any areas for improvement. The practice provided us with telephone statistics to demonstrate performance. Statistics showed 89-93% patient telephone calls from those who queued were answered and there was an average telephone waiting time of 2 minutes 45 seconds to 3 minutes 30 seconds. Staff told us the change to the telephone queue buster system from ‘5th’ to ‘3rd’ position in the queue for patients to be able to request an automatic call-back, had improved the service for patients.In addition to telephone statistics, the practice monitored the medical triage requests per month to ensure the triage process was working effectively.

We also reviewed data from the National GP Patient Survey relating to patient access to the service. Practice data was mostly above the national averages. For example:

75% of respondents described their experience of contacting the practice as good, which was above the national average of 70%.

48% of respondents found it easy to contact the practice by telephone which was below the national average of 53%.

60% of respondents found it easy to contact the practice by their website, which was above the national average of 51%.

55% of respondents found it easy to contact the practice by the NHS app, which was above the national average of 49%.

74%of respondents felt they waited about the right amount of time for their last general practice appointment, which was above the national average of 67%.

49%of respondents said they usually got to see or speak to their preferred healthcare professional when they would like to, which was above the national average of 40%.

As part of our assessment, CQC received feedback from patients through our ‘Give Feedback on Care’ process. We received feedback from 11 patients of which 3 were positive about their experience of the service; and 8 were negative. Positive patient feedback related to the care, treatment and support received from staff. Negative feedback related the appointment system where patients reported difficulties making appointments; and communications issues between staff and patients relating to their care and treatment.

Staff gave us examples of how they had worked to improve access for patients. This included receptionist staff completing the online proforma on behalf of patients if they experienced difficulty or did not have internet access; and undertaking long term conditions reviews for patients who were housebound. In addition, the Wyre Forest Health Partnership had commissioned a voluntary organisation to provide low level mental health support to patients to help to reduce waiting times and improve patient access to care.

As part of our assessment, we assessed access to the practice premises. We found the practice was accessible for wheelchair users, and all consultation rooms were accessible whether on the ground floor, or via lift facilities. Disabled toilets were available as well as baby feeding and changing facilities. There was a car park with designated disabled parking spaces.

Leaders told us there was a focus on the ‘Core20PLUS5’ across the. Wyre Forest Health Partnership. Core20PLUS5 is a national NHS England approach to inform action to reduce healthcare inequalities.

We found staff treated people equally, without discrimination. 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. Leaders proactively sought ways to address any barriers to improve people’s experiences. For example, as an accredited Veteran Friendly Practice, they demonstrated a proactive approach to supporting former members of the armed forces. The practice arranged a monthly ‘Veterans Café’ where veteran patients could meet together, connect, share experiences and access social or healthcare support. Leaders had also implemented a new template to capture information about veterans to support their needs.

Staff told us there were 4 caravan sites in the local area and the practice was a Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller (GRT) Friendly practice. These communities face inequalities in access to healthcare and can experience serious mental health outcomes. Being a GRT friendly practice, people from this community were supported to register with the practice and access care and treatment to meet their needs. The practice had also supported a local asylum seeker hotel which housed up to 100 residents, to register with the practice and receive healthcare.

Leaders also told us there had been a number of new housing estates built in the local area which the practice actively contacted to ensure patients knew how to register with a simple QR code or via the website, to access care.

Leaders told us about arrangements they had in place to meet the needs of housebound patients registered with the practice. For example, during the flu and COVID19 vaccination season, the practice had a dedicated nurse and administrative member of staff who focused on ensuring these patients received their vaccinations, where possible within the first two weeks of the season as these patients are often vulnerable. In addition, for patients who are housebound living in rural areas, staff told us they endeavoured to always try to include any additional health screening or blood tests needed to do as much as they could patients during their home visits.

For patients with learning disabilities, the practice had two GP Learning Disability leads. Staff told us extended appointments were available for patients with learning disabilities and staff endeavoured to try to meet as many needs of these patients in one appointment. Sensory packs were available for patients who needed them and patients could access quieter areas in the practice if required. Leaders told us they were also in the process of developing a video for patients with learning disabilities to try to alleviate their anxiety about attending the practice for appointments.

For patients with hearing impairments, clinicians put flags on these patients’ clinical records to alert staff of their needs; and we saw the practice was equipped with a hearing loop system. For patients whose first language was not English, the practice was able to access interpreting services for them.

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. Staff told us they reviewed patient ‘ReSPECT’ forms regularly to ensure these reflected patient’s current wishes and could be changed accordingly. ReSPECT stands for Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment. These forms create personalised recommendations for clinical care in emergency situations where people are not able to make decisions or express their wishes.

Palliative patients were able to have home visits and care packages to ensure their wishes were followed and carried out in their final stages of life. Clinicians worked collaboratively with District Nurses and the palliative care team to update patient care plans.