The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Hillside Practice

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Windermere Drive, Skelton, Saltburn By The Sea, Cleveland, TS12 2TG (01287) 650430

Provided and run by:
Hillside Practice

All Inspections

6 July 2023

During a monthly review of our data

We carried out a review of the data available to us about Hillside Practice 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 Hillside Practice, you can give feedback on this service.

8 December 2021

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out an unannounced inspection at Hillside Practice on 8 December 2021. This inspection was focused on the management of access to appointments.

The practice remains rated as Good overall.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Hillside Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

This inspection was undertaken in response to data we reviewed which suggested potential issues with access to appointments.

How we carried out the inspection

This inspection included a site visit. The lead inspector spoke with staff on site.

Interviews were carried out with the practice manager. We also spoke with a member of the patient participation group via telephone.

We found that:

  • People were not always able to access appointments in a timely way.
  • The practice offered a range of appointment types.
  • Patients with the most urgent needs had their treatment prioritised.
  • There were systems in place to support people who faced communication barriers to access treatment.
  • There were some systems in place to monitor access to appointments and make improvements. However, the practice did not make good use of management reports provided by the practice phone systems to check if patients had good access via phone.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

  • Improve the use of reports that could be generated from their telephone system to monitor how well patients could access the practice via phone.
  • Implement monitoring to support the practice in understanding where there is unmet need, including reviewing the number and timing of abandoned calls and the frequency by which patients need to call back on subsequent days when no more appointments were available.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care

25 May 2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Hillview Practice on 25 May 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

  • There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
  • Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
  • Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with 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 was available and easy to understand. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
  • Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, 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 improvement are:

To ensure that process for managing significant events is more robust and all relevant staff have the required information.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice