Parkwood Surgery

Updated 12 February 2025

Date of Assessment:

We conducted an assessment between 29 and 30 April 2025. We also undertook further remote assessment checks between 2 September and 11 September 2025

Parkwood Surgery is located in Parkwood Drive, Warners End, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 2LD. The provider is registered with CQC as a partnership to deliver the regulated activities: diagnostic and screening procedures, family planning, maternity and midwifery services, treatment of disease, disorder or injury and surgical procedures. The practice is situated within the Herts and West Essex Integrated Care Board (HWEICB) and delivers General Medical Services (GMS) to a patient population of about 16,490 people. This is part of a contract held with NHS England. The practice is part of a wider network of GP practices within the Beta Primary Care Network (PCN). The practice partnership comprises of 2 GP clinical partners. There was no Registered Manager at the time of assessment.

Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the 8th decile (8 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others. According to the latest available data, the ethnic make-up of the practice area is 87% White, 5.4% Asian, 2.9% Black, 3.3% Mixed and 1.1% other ethnicity. The practice population had an equal percentage of males and females and a larger population of patients aged between 35 to 44 years of age. This assessment considered the demographics of the people using the service, the context the service was working within and how this impacted service delivery. Where relevant, further commentary is provided in the quality statements section of this report.

Parkwood Surgery has 2 branch surgeries located in Boxmoor and Gadebridge. At the time of assessment, the practice was progressing plans to close these 2 branch surgeries to consolidate services and focus delivery of care from solely the main site at Parkwood Drive. Access to services will continue to be maintained from the main site.

The practice is open between 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday. Dacorum Extended Access provides additional face-to-face GP appointments between 6pm to 9pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 4pm on Saturday from Highfield Surgery. Out of hours services are provided by NHS 111.

Parkwood Surgery is a training/teaching practice with trainee GPs and trainee hospital doctors.

Practice staff comprised of 2 GP clinical partners, 8 salaried and locum GPs. The team also comprised of 1 full-time business and practice manager, 4 nurses, 3 healthcare assistants, 1 paramedic, 1 pharmacy technician, 1 care-co-ordinator, 1 pharmacist and 17 reception and administration staff. They were also supported by a mental health worker and a first contact physiotherapist, both recruited by the PCN.

Services provided include chronic disease management, minor surgery, social prescribing, travel vaccinations, travel advice, contraception and family planning advice, counselling, NHS health checks, non-NHS services, smoking cessation, first contact physiotherapy, child health and childhood immunisations, sexual health advice, phlebotomy and NHS screening.

The main building underwent a major extension and full refurbishment which was completed in 2022. The assessed premises is a purpose-built 3 floor building.

We carried out a comprehensive assessment in April 2025. Following the April 2025 inspection, we issued the provider with a Letter of Intent (LOI) on 2 May 2025 to notify them of potential urgent enforcement action. The LOI outlined serious concerns regarding the regulated activities of safe care and treatment and good governance and required the provider to submit documentary evidence within 7 days via an action plan. This was to reassure us that identified risks had been removed or were in the process of being mitigated. Failure to do so would have resulted in immediate enforcement measures.

The provider, working with the support of the ICB, responded promptly with an action plan detailing steps to address the concerns. The practice continued to submit weekly action plans which were reviewed by the assessment team and the Integrated Care Board (ICB). Further assessment activity took place in September 2025 to seek assurance on progress and as a result, we have rated the practice Requires Improvement overall.

During our assessment, we found the provider to be in breach of our regulations in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.

The practice website can be found at parkwoodsurgery.nhs.uk

Updated 12 February 2025

While some people described positive interactions, people’s experience of using the service was largely negative. People reported that care was not reliable, timely or responsive and described struggling to obtain appointments, even when advised to book by a clinician or when their symptoms worsened. The online consultation system often closed early, phone queues were long and appointments released at 8am were usually gone within minutes. As a result, some felt their only option was to queue outside early in the morning, which disproportionately affected the ability of working age adults, carers, older people and those with disabilities or mental health needs to access appointments.

People described some staff attitudes as dismissive or unhelpful and said information given by reception staff was inconsistent.

Privacy was not always respected. The reception area did not allow for confidential conversations and people reported having to shout personal information through a plastic barrier, staff discussing patient information in public areas and confidential details left visible on desks.

People experienced delays in receiving medicines, test results and referrals. Examples included unsigned prescriptions, missing information on urgent medicines for children, and long waits for referrals or hospital letters to be actioned. Some patients reported harm or distress because important clinical information was not reviewed.

Continuity of care was poor. People reported seeing different clinicians, experiencing cancelled appointments and receiving conflicting advice, medicines errors and failures to follow up results and care plans. Patients commonly saw different locum clinicians, felt their history was not understood, or were reviewed by staff who they felt were not at the appropriate clinical level. As a result, some people lost confidence in the service and chose to leave the practice after many years.

People repeatedly said they did not feel listened to. Complaints often went unanswered or were felt to have been dismissed, and some individuals sought help from their Member of Parliament after being unable to get a response from the practice.

Overall, feedback showed the service was not consistently kind, respectful or person centred. Many people felt distressed, dismissed and unsupported.

The systemic issues in access, communication, continuity and leadership were directly affecting the quality and safety of care.