Archived: Dr Marimithu Velmurugan

Updated 23 July 2015

Dr Marimithu Vel-Murugan practice provides primary medical services to approximately 1010 people from 401, Westborough Road, Westcliff-on-sea. The practice holds a GMS contract to provide primary medical services.

The CQC intelligent monitoring placed the practice in band six. The intelligent monitoring tool draws on existing national data sources and includes indicators covering a range of GP practice activity and patient experience including the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF) and the National Patient Survey. Based on the indicators, each GP practice has been categorised into one of six priority bands, with band six representing the best performance band. This banding is not a judgement on the quality of care being given by the GP practice; this only comes after a CQC inspection has taken place.

The area covered by the practice was a discreet area surrounding the surgery building in Westcliff-on-sea. The practice has one GP who is supported by two part-time nurses a part-time practice manager and two administrative members of staff.

Dr Marimithu Vel-Murugan has been running the practice since the mid 1970’s and provides a traditional general practice delivering personal care for his patients.

The practice is open Monday to Friday 8am to 6.30pm and extended hours on Wednesdays from 6.30pm until 7pm. Consultation hours Monday to Friday where mornings 9am to 11am and evenings 4.30pm to 6pm. Clinics ran from 11.30am every day. Home visits were available as required based upon need.

The practice had one consultation room which was shared between the GP and the nurse consultations and clinics.

The practice has opted out of providing out-of-hours services to the people registered at the practice. Details of how to access out-of-hours emergency and non-emergency treatment and advice is available within the practice, on the practice website, and within the practice leaflet.

Updated 23 July 2015

We inspected this service on 14 November 2014 as part of our new comprehensive inspection programme.

Overall we found the registered service Dr Marimithu Velmurugan at 401 Westborough Road, Westcliff On Sea, to be good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing caring and responsive services. It was also good for providing services for the older people, people with long term conditions, families, children and young people, working age people (including those recently retired and students), people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable and people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).

Our key findings were as follows:

• Staff understood how to report significant events and to raise concerns.
• We found that action had been taken in response to safety alerts. Actions were also taken following investigations into significant events, and these were reviewed and analysed to evaluate their impact.
• Risks to patients were assessed.
• 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.
• Patients told us 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.
• All patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with the GP and that there was continuity of care. We were told urgent appointments were available the same day.
• The practice had appropriate facilities and was equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff told us they felt supported by management.
• The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on. The practice sought feedback from patients through a proactive patient participation group and a patient survey in relation to the services provided.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 23 July 2015

The provider was rated as good for providing safe, effective, responsive, caring and well-led services.

Nursing staff had lead roles in chronic disease management to improve outcomes for patients with long term conditions.

Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed. The practice had developed care plans for patients in this group to look at improved care for them. For those people with the most complex needs, the GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

Updated 23 July 2015

The provider was rated as good for providing safe, effective, responsive, caring and well-led services.

Patients told us that children and young people were treated in an age-appropriate way. We found appointments were available outside of school hours.

Immunisation rates were high for all standard childhood immunisations in comparison with other practices in the local area. The practice looked after several members, or often the entire family and was able to tailor their care to meet the whole family’s needs.

Updated 23 July 2015

The provider was rated as good for providing safe, effective, responsive, caring and well-led services.

Nationally reported data showed that outcomes for patients were good for conditions commonly found in older people. The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population.

Staff were responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and rapid access appointments for those with enhanced needs. The patients had a named GP to provide consistency during their care

Longer appointments and home visits were available for older people when needed, and this was acknowledged positively in feedback from patients regarding their care and treatment. The leadership of the practice had started to engage with this patient group to look at further options to improve services for them.

Updated 23 July 2015

The provider was rated as good for providing safe, effective, responsive, caring and well-led services.

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 offered extended opening hours for patients who could not attend during a working day.

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.

Patients could not book appointments or order repeat prescriptions online which reduced access for those patients who could not attend the practice during the working day.

Updated 23 July 2015

The provider was rated as good for providing safe, effective, responsive, caring and well-led services.

The practice shared information with patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations. Staff members had received training on how to recognise needs for people with mental health needs.

The practice worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of people experiencing poor mental health and those with dementia. The practice provided in-house counselling to support patients in this population group.

Updated 23 July 2015

The provider was rated as good for providing safe, effective, responsive, caring and well-led services.

The practice held a register of patients living in vulnerable circumstances including those with a learning disability. It had carried out annual health checks for people with a learning disability. Staff at a care home told us the GP visited even when they had not called him and he dealt with on-going health concerns before any problems arose.

The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable people. They 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. The staff were aware of their responsibilities regarding information sharing, documentation of safeguarding concerns and who to contact to raise concerns