Charlton Hill Surgery

Updated 15 December 2017

Charlton Hill Surgery is a general practice surgery that provides NHS Services under a General Medical Services contract. It is located in a purpose built surgery at Charlton Road, Andover, SP10 3JY, which is close to the Andover War Memorial Hospital. The website for the practice is www.charltonhillsurgery.co.uk.

At the time of this inspection there were nine GP partners at the practice and one registrar. This included one GP trainer and one appraiser. There were also four practice nurses and a team of administrative and reception staff headed by a practice business manager. The practice had a growing patient list size of approximately 12,400 patients that covered a large geographical catchment which was not considered to be a generally deprived area. This area was described as 80% urban and 20% rural. There were ten residential care homes within the practice area.

The practice was open Monday to Friday from 8am until 6.30pm. We inspected the main surgery building only, but the practice also has a dispensing branch at Enham Alamein that was not inspected as part of this inspection. The branch premises address is The White House, 1 Newbury Road, Enham Alamein, SP11 6HG. The branch surgery is open Monday to Friday from 9am until 11am, and patients can attend either location by preference and availability. The dispensary is open from 8.30am until 1pm.

Updated 15 December 2017

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection 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 Charlton Hill Surgery on 1 November 2017. This was a planned inspection 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.

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

• There were routine and urgent appointments easily available and patients were able to access care when they needed it.

• The GP partners provided strong leadership and stability within the practice.

• There was good communication between staff and partners, and also between the practice and its patients.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 5 March 2015

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

Patients in this population group received safe, effective care which was based on national guidance. Care was tailored to patient needs, there was a multi-disciplinary input and was reviewed regularly.

The practice provided regular clinics for patients with diabetes, respiratory and cardiac conditions. The practice had a diabetes nurse specialist and three GPs, who had received specialist training, to provide diabetic care.

Updated 5 March 2015

The practice is rated as good for the population group of families, children and young people.

The practice followed national protocols and staff were aware of their responsibilities and the various legal requirements in the delivery of care to people in this population group. They worked with other health and social care providers to provide safe care.

Immunisation rates were relatively high for all standard childhood immunisations. Patients told us and we saw evidence that children and young people were treated in an age appropriate way and recognised as individuals. We were provided with good examples of joint working with midwives and health visitors.

Updated 5 March 2015

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

Nationally reported data showed the practice had good outcomes for conditions commonly found amongst older people. The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population and had a range of enhanced services, for example in dementia and end of life care. The practice was responsive to the needs of older people, including offering home visits and rapid access appointments for those with greater needs. The GPs supported the elderly in nine local care homes.

The practice also interacted with the voluntary sector, community geriatrics and older mental health services.

Updated 5 March 2015

The practice is rated as good for the population group of working age people (including those recently retired and students).

There was an appropriate system of receiving and responding to concerns and feedback from patients in this group who had found difficulty in getting appointments. The practice was proactive in offering online services as well as a full range of health promotion and screening which reflected the needs of this population group. On Monday evenings after 18:30 and Saturday mornings the practice offered pre booked non-urgent appointments.

Updated 5 March 2015

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

The practice ensured that good quality care was provided for patients with mental health illnesses. The practice had a nominated lead who linked with other health professionals and community teams to ensure a safe, effective and co-ordinated service. The practice offered proactive, personalised care that met the needs of the older people in its population and had a range of enhanced services, for example in dementia. Data showed that this practice had a better than national average score for dementia diagnosis in older patients.

Updated 5 March 2015

The practice is rated as good for the population group whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.

There was evidence of good multidisciplinary working with involvement of other health and social care workers. Staff were trained on safeguarding vulnerable adults and child protection.

We were told that social services had recommended this practice for their care of patients with learning difficulties. The practice had taken part in a learning disabilities audit on completed health checks 2013/2014. This had been conducted by Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust and showed that during the audit dates 51% of patients registered with the practice who were eligible, received a learning disabilities annual health check. This figure was congratulated by Southern Health and the practice was encouraged to improve the uptake for the next year.