Urmston Group Practice

Updated 27 June 2017

Urmston Group Practice moved to their current address in November 2015. They provide a service to 12,351 patients in the M41 area of Manchester under a personal medical services contract. They are governed by Trafford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).  The location is situated in an area close to shops and public transport and there is ample parking for patients attending by car.

A team of seven GPs (three partners and four salaried GPs) and a nursing team of three practice nurses, an advanced nurse practitioner and an assistant practitioner are supported by two practice managers, secretarial, administration and reception staff. There is an equal mix of male and female GPs. The practice currently have visiting medical and nursing students who come to the Practice to learn about aspects of Primary Care.

The opening times are as follows :

Monday 8am to 9.30pm with extended hours accessed by pre-booked appointments

Tuesday 8am to 6.30pm

Wednesday 8am to 6.30pm

Thursday 8am to 6.30pm

Friday 8am to 6.30pm

Patients can also access the Saturday Hub where GP and nurse appointments are available.

The practice is closed at the weekends when patients can access the out of hours service. Patients can also attend the walk-in centre at Trafford General Hospital seven days a week between the hours of 8am and 8pm.

The practice had a full comprehensive inspection in January 2015 and a requirement notice was issued against infection control which were in relation to the old building. This full comprehensive re-inspection was carried out because the practice had since moved premises.

Updated 27 June 2017

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Urmston Group Practice on 10 May 2017. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with 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.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are :

• Consider introduction of a formal protocol for the prescribing of DMARDs.

• Introduce a system to monitor medicines in GP bags and security of prescriptions.

• Consider Mental Health Act and Adult Safeguard training for all staff.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 27 June 2017

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

• Nursing staff had lead roles in chronic disease management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority.
• Data for diabetes showed that the practice attained 79% of the total points. This was 11% below the CCG and 10% below the national averages. However the advanced nurse practitioner (ANP) was currently studying the Warwick Course to enable the practice to deliver an improved diabetic service.
• Data for asthma, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), depression and dementia showed that the practice attained 100% of the total points which was better than the CCG and national averages.
• Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed.
• All these patients had a named GP and a structured annual review to check their health and medicines needs were being met. For those patients with the most complex needs, the named GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.
• The practice held active reviews of patients with multiple co-morbidities to ensure they attended regularly.

Updated 27 June 2017

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 high for all standard childhood immunisations.
• Staff told us that children young people were treated in an age-appropriate way and were recognised as individuals and, and we saw evidence to confirm this.
• Data showed that 83% of eligible females in the practice had been screened for cervical cancer. This was comparable with the CCG average of 83% and the national average of 82%.
• Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies.
• We saw positive examples of joint working with midwives, health visitors and school nurses.

Updated 27 June 2017

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.
• The practice was responsive to the needs of older people, and provided two to four home visits to older people each day.
• Urgent appointments were available for all patients, particularly older patients with enhanced needs. There was evidence of patient-centred care.

Updated 27 June 2017

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.
• 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.
• Extended hours were offered on Monday evenings and patients could also attend at the Trafford Hub on Saturday mornings.  The Hub offered both GP and nurse appointments.
• Patients were able to book “on the day appointments” twice during the day.
• Text messages were used to offer reminders of appointments made.

Updated 27 June 2017

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

• 85% of patients diagnosed with dementia had their care reviewed in a face to face meeting in the last 12 months, which was comparable to the CCG average of 84% and the national average of 85%.
• 84% of patients with a mental health condition had agreed a care plan and this was reviewed compared to the CCG average of 85% and the national average of 88%.
• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of patients experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia and we saw evidence of this.
• We saw evidence of advance care planning and best interest meetings 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 had a system in place to follow up patients who had attended accident and emergency where they may have been experiencing poor mental health.
• Staff had a good understanding of how to support patients with mental health needs and dementia.

Updated 27 June 2017

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 such as homeless people, travelers and those with a learning disability. They did not partake in an extended service for patients with a learning disability which was provided by a separate team. The practice were in close contact with this team to ensure that all patients on their list received annual reviews.
• The practice regularly worked with other health care professionals in the case management of vulnerable patients.
• The practice informed 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 and we saw evidence of this. 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.