Churchfields Surgery

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

We looked for evidence that the service met people’s needs, and that staff treated people equally and without discrimination. At our last assessment, we rated this key question as good. At this assessment, the rating remains the same.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The practice made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs. Care plans reflected physical, mental, emotional, and social needs of patients including those related to protected characteristics under the Equality Act. Feedback from people who used the service was positive with examples given on the provision of person-centred care. Staff shared examples of how people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices. For example, patients who were receiving end-of-life care were supported to understand their condition, care and treatment options.

The practice understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity. We saw the practice worked in partnership with other services to meet the needs of its patient population. The practice created protected continuity slots to ensure patients such as those with complex needs and palliative requirements consistently saw the same clinician.

The practice supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. The practice had access to interpreter services, including British Sign Language. Information provided by the service met the Accessible Information Standard. Patients were informed as to how to access their care records.

The practice made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. They involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result. We saw complaints were managed in line with the practice’s policy. Learning from complaints was evident and staff were able to identify changes made as a result of patient feedback. The practices website also had a suggestions section which enabled the practice to continue to make improvements to the service. We saw evidence the practice regularly reviewed their patient feedback and shared this in regular team meetings. National GP Patient Survey data reported that 80% of respondents said the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at listening to them during their last general practice appointment. This was lower than the local (89%) and national (87%) averages. Feedback we received from patients through our ‘Give Feedback on Care’ process and off the PPG was positive in terms of patients feeling listened to.

The practice made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it. In response to the National GP Patient Survey and telephony data, the provider had identified changes to improve access to the service. For example, they identified the busiest times of the day and week and increased the number of reception staff during peak call periods, and upskilled reception staff to improve call resolution. People could access the service to suit their needs for example online, in person and by telephone. According to the National GP Patient Survey data, 64% of respondents found it easy to contact the GP practice using their website. This was higher than local (59%) and national (51%) averages. 59% of respondents found it easy to contact the GP practice using the NHS app which was higher than local and national averages. This reflected the feedback we received from patients who told us they appreciated the ease of online access around their work schedule. 79% of respondents to the National GP Patient Survey described their experience of contacting their GP practice as good which was better than local and national averages. The practice facilities were accessible to patients with a lift available for patients to access the practice.

Staff and leaders listened to information about people who were most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes. Staff and leaders used this information to provide tailored care, support and treatment in response to this.

Leaders proactively sought ways to address any barriers to improving people’s experience and worked with local organisations. One of the GPs was a member of the Bromsgrove Mental Health and Housing group that was established to address complex social and housing challenges within the district. The GP helped create a forum where they were able to provide education and practical guidance on how best to access appropriate clinical care and support for vulnerable patients. This helped to support the vulnerable patients within their community.

The practice took a proactive approach to health management by identifying individuals at higher risk for health issues. They analysed their population using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) and stratified NHS Health Checks by prioritising those living in the most deprived areas.This helped to ensure people living in deprivation who were at a higher risk of cardiovascular and metabolic conditions (health problems that puts individuals at risk of type 2 diabetes or condition that affects their heart of blood vessels) were proactively reached.

The practice worked in partnership with the primary care network (PCN) to support equity in people’s experiences and outcomes. For example, they helped to support the health promotion bus which worked in deprived areas of the community. This provided a variety of services including NHS health checks and lifestyle advice for people who would find it difficult to attend a local GP practice.

Leaders proactively sought out ways to address any barriers to people’s experience within the practice premises. They worked alongside the sensory friendly environment team for Hereford and Worcester and made adjustments to make the practice more accessible. They introduced a sensory friendly separate waiting room with a sensory box which provided a calmer space for patients. They also changed their signage by making it clearer with adjusted colours to improve readability for patients with visual processing difficulties. To help further reduce health inequalities, the practice worked alongside their PPG and held an age UK dementia wellbeing drop in clinic that ran alongside flu clinics. This helped to target the older population and their carers by offering them information on diagnosis, signposting and support from clinicians and trained staff. This helped strengthen the support for vulnerable patients and improved the experience of carers.

As part of our assessment, we reviewed the results from the National GP Patient Survey which showed that 91% of patients felt their needs were met during their last general practice appointment.This was above national average of 90%.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life. Our records review showed people were supported to consider their wishes for their end-of-life care, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This information was shared with other services when necessary. Staff regularly attended multi-disciplinary meetings where they discussed patients who received end-of-life care. They had a palliative care register that was regularly reviewed and updated. They had processes in place to identify and support people who may be approaching the end of their life. This included supporting the family and carers of patients at the end of life and in bereavement. For example, they sent bereavement cards, offered their condolences and an opportunity to come into the practice to talk about how they were doing and if there was any support they needed. The practice regularly reviewed all deaths including unexpected deaths. They completed post death reflections to ensure learning was discussed and shared throughout the team.