Ash Trees 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.

This service scored 79 (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. Our review of clinical records showed patients were supported to understand their condition and were involved in planning for their care needs. They were also involved in decisions about their care.

The National GP Patient Survey for questions linked to patient centredness showed that 89% of respondents stated the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at listening to them during their last general practice appointment, compared to 87% nationally and 88% locally. We saw that 84% of respondents found the reception and administrative team at this GP practice helpful, compared to 83% nationally and 86% locally.

The service 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. They led and participated in multi-disciplinary teams with other professionals to meet the needs of their patients. There were established mechanisms for engaging with the community healthcare providers. Referrals to other services were made promptly and information shared by other services was managed effectively and timely to support good outcomes for people. Urgent referrals were safety-netted to make sure the referral did not get missed and were chased up as appropriate. The practice adapted the process following feedback to ensure the results were also received back without issue.

The practice set up a home visiting team to ensure the needs of those housebound and complex patients who were unable to attend the practice was met, ensuring continuity of care, multi-disciplinary team input and timely access to appropriate care and treatment.

The practice also set up a post-hospital discharge pilot. This utilised general practice assistants who undertook personalised follow-ups for recently discharged patients to support early identification of their needs and prevent deterioration and readmission.

Staff could refer people with social needs, such as those experiencing social isolation or housing difficulties, to the health and wellbeing team. The practice was very involved in establishing and the subsequent ongoing operation, which was a Primary Care Network collaboration. This provided access to mental health practitioners, wellbeing coaches and social prescribing practitioners for patients.

The practice supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

Information to promote the take up of screening and immunisation programmes was available in a range of languages. The practice had access to interpreter services, including British Sign Language. People who had difficulty with reading, writing or using digital services were supported with accessible information. The practice website contained NHS information about health conditions and support services that people could use, and this information could be shown in different languages. Patients were informed as to how to access their care records.

The service 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, and were responded to.

The practice had a Patient Participation Group (PPG), which was made up of patients, carers and GP practice staff, the group met regularly to discuss and support the running of their GP practice. PPGs look at the services the practice offers, patient experience and how improvements can be made for the benefit of patients and the practice.

In terms of overall experience, 64% of patients who responded to the survey described their experience of this GP practice as good, compared to 75% nationally and 78% locally. Furthermore, 89% of patients reported the healthcare professional was good at listening to them, compared with 87% nationally and 88% locally. 92% were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment during their last general practice appointment, compared with 91% nationally and 91% locally.

The practice regularly undertook Friends and Family Test patient surveys to gain feedback on their performance. We saw that these were analysed and themes gathered and shared with staff.

The practice engaged with staff well; they had undertaken various initiatives to gauge staff experience and acted upon feedback by introducing initiatives to address the areas raised by staff. Managers also welcomed feedback and had made changes and improvements based on ideas shared by staff.

The practice was good at ensuring people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

The service received below average scores in the National GP Patient Survey for questions linked to access. The percentage of respondents who were positive about their experience of contacting the practice was 56%, compared to 70% nationally and 73% locally and 47% of respondents felt they waited about the right amount of time for their last appointment, compared to 67% nationally and 68% locally.

Since the GP National Patient Survey had been completed, the practice had implemented a new triage and appointments system, which had improved appointment availability, telephone traffic into the practice and reduced call waiting times. This was evidenced by the practice from data they had collected, and it was anticipated that the next patient survey would show improved levels of satisfaction in this area. Feedback from patients following the change showed patients found the move to be a positive one.

Although the practice used a total triage system, those patients who were unable to use electronic devices could be assisted by staff via the telephone or in person.

Practice facilities were accessible to those persons with mobility issues, with treatment rooms available at ground floor level.

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

Feedback provided by people using the service, both to the practice and to CQC, was positive. Staff treated people equally and without discrimination. Leaders proactively sought ways to address any barriers to improving people’s experience and worked with local organisations, to address any local health inequalities. Staff understood the importance of providing an inclusive approach to care and made adjustments to support equity in people’s experience and outcomes. The practice had processes to ensure people could register at the practice, including those in vulnerable circumstances such as homeless people and travellers. Staff used appropriate systems to capture and review feedback from people using the service, including those who did not speak English or have access to the internet.

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.