• Doctor
  • GP practice

Crown Wood Medical Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

4A Crown Row, Crown Wood, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 0TH (01344) 310202

Provided and run by:
Crown Wood Medical Centre

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 16 March 2016

The Crown Wood Medical Centre is situated in Bracknell. The practice is a purpose built premises with car parking for patients and staff. Premises is accessible for patients and visitors who have difficulty managing steps. All patient services are offered on the ground floor. The practice comprises of two consulting rooms, one treatment room, a patient waiting area, administrative and management office and a meeting room.

The practice has core opening hours from 8am to 6:30pm Monday to Friday. The practice has offered range of scheduled appointments to patients every weekday from 9am to 5:30pm including open access appointments with a duty GP throughout the day. Extended hours appointments are available every Monday evening from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. In addition, the practice has offered extended hours appointments as a part of clinical commissioning group (CCG) overflow service arrangements from 6:30pm to 8:30pm (Monday to Friday) and 8am to 4pm (every Saturday).

The practice had a patient population of approximately 5,050 registered patients. The practice population of patients aged between 0 to 4 and 25 to 44 years are higher than national average and there are a lower number of patients over 60 years old compared to national average.

There are two GP partners at the practice. One GP is male and one female. The practice employs a practice nurse prescriber, a practice nurse and a health care assistant. The practice manager is supported by an assistant practice manager, a team of administrative and reception staff. Services are provided via a General Medical Services (GMS) contract (GMS contracts are negotiated nationally between GP representatives and the NHS).

Services are provided from following location:

4A Crown Row

Crown Wood

Bracknell

RG12 0TH

The practice has opted out of providing out of hours services to their patients. There are arrangements in place for services to be provided when the surgery is closed and these are displayed at the practice, in the practice information leaflet and on the patient website. Out of hours services are provided during protected learning time by East Berkshire Primary Care service or after 6:30pm, weekends and bank holidays by calling NHS 111.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 16 March 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Crown Wood Medical Centre on 2 March 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice good for providing safe, effective, responsive, caring and well led services.

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. The majority of information about safety was recorded, monitored and reviewed.
  • Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
  • We found that completed clinical audits cycles were driving positive outcomes for patients.
  • Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had 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 were available and easy to understand.
  • Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP, 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:

  • Review and improve the systems in place to effectively monitor vaccine fridge temperatures readings.
  • Review and improve the systems in place to effectively monitor outcomes of diabetic patients.
  • Review and improve the system in place to promote the benefits of cervical, bowel and breast screening in order to increase patient uptake.
  • Ensure that within response to complaints patients are given the necessary information of the complainant’s right to escalate the complaint to the Ombudsman if dissatisfied with the response.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

People with long term conditions

Good

Updated 16 March 2016

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

  • There were clinical leads for chronic disease management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority.
  • Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed.
  • All patients with long term conditions had a named GP and a structured annual review to check that 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.

Families, children and young people

Good

Updated 16 March 2016

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

  • 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 patients who had a high number of A&E attendances.
  • Immunisation rates were comparable for all standard childhood immunisations.
  • Patients told us that children and young patients were treated in an age-appropriate way and were recognised as individuals.
  • The practice’s uptake for the cervical screening programme was 80%, which was lower than the national average of 82%.
  • Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies.
  • We saw good examples of joint working with midwives, health visitors and school nurses.

Older people

Good

Updated 16 March 2016

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

  • The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older patients in its population.
  • It was responsive to the needs of older patients, and offered home visits and urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs.
  • The percentage of patients aged 65 or over who received a seasonal flu vaccination was higher (80%) than the national average (73%).
  • There was a register to manage end of life care.
  • There were good working relationships with external services such as district nurses.

Working age people (including those recently retired and students)

Good

Updated 16 March 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of working-age patients (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 appointments were available every Monday evening from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. In addition, the practice offered extended hours appointments as a part of clinical commissioning group (CCG) overflow service arrangements from 6:30pm to 8:30pm (Monday to Friday) and 8am to 4pm (every Saturday).

People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia)

Good

Updated 16 March 2016

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

  • Performance for dementia face to face review was better than the CCG and national average. The practice had achieved 94% of the total number of points available, compared to 83% locally and 84% nationally.
  • 92% of patients experiencing poor mental health were involved in developing their care plan in last 12 months.
  • The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of patients experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia.
  • The practice had told patients experiencing poor mental health how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.
  • Systems were in place to follow up patients who had attended accident and emergency, when experiencing mental health difficulties.
  • Staff had a good understanding of how to support patients with mental health needs and dementia.

People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable

Good

Updated 16 March 2016

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

  • The practice held a register of patients living in vulnerable circumstances including homeless patients, travellers and those with a learning disability.
  • It offered annual health checks for patients with learning disabilities. Health checks were completed for all three patients on the learning disability register.
  • Longer appointments were offered to patients with a learning disability.
  • The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable patients.
  • 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.