• Doctor
  • GP practice

Plas Ffynnon Medical Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Middleton Road, Oswestry, Shropshire, SY11 2RB (01691) 655844

Provided and run by:
Plas Ffynnon Medical Centre

All Inspections

6 July 2023

During a monthly review of our data

We carried out a review of the data available to us about Plas Ffynnon Medical Centre on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.

This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.

If you have concerns about Plas Ffynnon Medical Centre, you can give feedback on this service.

24 March 2020

During an annual regulatory review

We reviewed the information available to us about Plas Ffynnon Medical Centre on 24 March 2020. We did not find evidence of significant changes to the quality of service being provided since the last inspection. As a result, we decided not to inspect the surgery at this time. We will continue to monitor this information about this service throughout the year and may inspect the surgery when we see evidence of potential changes.

5 December 2017

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection 05 November 2014– Good)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:

Older People – Good

People with long-term conditions – Good

Families, children and young people – Good

Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good

People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good

People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Plas Ffynnon Medical Centre on 5 December 2017 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

  • The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.

  • The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.

  • The partners had reviewed and increased its workforce and employed additional clinicians with a varied skill mix to help meet the health and social needs of patients and the demand for access to appointments.

  • There was a structured programme for staff to receive essential training to enable them to carry out their duties safely. We saw that training had been completed or planned.

  • Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

  • Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it. Patients commented positively on access to same day appointments.

  • The practice enaged with the virtual patient participation group (PPG) to meet the needs of their patients. The PPG reported that the practice sent out emails to them to update them on changes within the practice. They were less active in requesting feedback or suggestions for surveys from them as members. The members spoken with suggested a more interactive model than is currently in place would be an improvement. All were positive about the care and treatment received from clinical staff.

  • There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

  • Review how clinical supervision sessions with the advanced nurse practitioner are recorded.

  • Review the system for recording patient safety alerts received and actioned by the practice.

  • Engage with the patient participation group to explore improved ways of gaining feedback.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

05 November 2014

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We inspected this service on 5 November 2014 as part of our new comprehensive inspection programme.

The overall rating for this service is good. We found the practice to be good in the safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led domains. We found the practice provided good care to older people, people with long term conditions, families, children and young people, the working age population and those recently retired, people in vulnerable circumstances and people experiencing poor mental health.

Our key findings were as follows:

  • Patients were kept safe because there were arrangements in place for staff to report and learn from key safety risks. The practice had a system in place for reporting, recording and monitoring significant events over time.
  • The practice had recognised that patients were experiencing difficulties accessing appointments, particularly pre-bookable appointments. The appointment system had been amended to provide more on the day appointments and increased telephone triage by practice nurses.
  • There were systems in place to keep patients safe from the risk and spread of infection.
  • Evidence we reviewed demonstrated that patients were satisfied with how they were treated and that this was with compassion, dignity and respect. It also demonstrated that the GPs were good at listening to patients and gave them enough time.
  • Staff were all clear about their own roles and responsibilities, and felt valued, well supported and knew who to go to in the practice with any concerns.

We saw several areas of outstanding practice including:

  • The practice website had the option of audio, translation into other languages and the font size could be increased.

However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

The provider should:

  • Ensure a protocol is in place detailing which patients’ medicines can be reviewed by the senior dispenser.
  • Ensure a system is in place for tracking prescription pads through the practice.
  • Obtain robust recruitment histories for all new staff.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice