Background to this inspection
Updated
15 June 2018
Wigton Group Medical Practice provides care and treatment to around 8,627 patients of all ages from Wigton and the surrounding Solway plain area. The practice is part of North Cumbria clinical commissioning group (CCG) and operates on a General Medical Services (GMS) contract agreement for general practice.
The practice provides services from the following address, which we visited during this inspection:
- South End, Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 9QD
The surgery is located in a purpose built two storey building which was erected in 2005. All patient areas and consultation rooms are on the ground floor and there is good access and facilities for patients with disabilities. An on-site car park is available which includes dedicated disabled car parking spaces.
Patients can book appointments in person, on-line or by telephone. Opening hours are as follows:
- Monday, Wednesday and Thursday – 8am to 6.30pm
- Tuesday and Friday – 7.45am to 6.30pm
Appointments with GPs and nurses are available from the opening time until 5.50pm.
The service for patients requiring urgent medical attention out of hours is provided by the NHS 111 service and Cumbria Health on Call Ltd (CHoC).
The practice has:
- Five GP partners (one male and four female)
- Three salaried GPs (one male and two female)
- Five practice nurses (all female)
- Four healthcare assistants (all female)
- 20 non-clinical staff members including a practice manager, medicines manager, administrators, receptionists and cleaners/caretakers
The practice is a teaching and training practice and involved in teaching qualified doctors interested in a career in General Practice and the training of medical students, nursing students and doctors participating in the overseas GP programme to attract GPs to the UK. They are also a member of the Medical Research Council’s General Practice Research Framework which is national group of general practices interested and participating in research.
The average life expectancy for the male practice population is 79 (CCG and national average 79) and for the female population 83 (CCG and national average 83). 22% of the practices’ patient population are in the over 65 age group.
At 51.2%, the percentage of the practice population reported as having a long standing health condition was lower than the CCG average of 58.1% and national average of 53.7%. Generally a higher percentage of patients with a long standing health condition can lead to an increased demand for GP services.
At 66.9% the percentage of the practice population recorded as being in paid work or full time education was higher than the CCG average of 58.1% and national average of 53.7%. The practice area is in the sixth most deprived decile. Deprivation levels affecting children and adults were lower than local and national averages.
Updated
15 June 2018
This practice is rated as Good overall. Previous inspection November 2014 - Outstanding
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
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Wigton Group Medical Practice on 10 April 2018 as part of our inspection programme.
At this inspection we found:
- The practice had systems to keep patients safe and safeguarded from abuse. However, there was no formal process in place to ensure that locum clinicians were up to date with mandatory training requirements.
- 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 they provided. They ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
- Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
- The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. They took account of patient needs and preferences.
- Patients were able to access care and treatment from the practice within an acceptable timescale for their needs.
- There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation. The practice proactively used performance information to drive improvement. However, at the time of our inspection not all staff had been given the opportunity of an annual appraisal.
We saw an area of outstanding practice:
- The practice had introduced ‘after GP’ appointments so that patients identified by the GP during an appointment as requiring blood and other tests could be seen immediately by a healthcare assistant. This meant that patients did not have to make another appointment and that they could receive any treatment they may need quicker. In addition this freed up routine appointment slots with nursing and health care staff and relieved pressure on reception staff.
However, there are areas where the provider should make improvements:
- The provider should continue with their plans to give all staff members the opportunity on an annual appraisal
- The provider should review and update their recruitment policy so that it includes details of the need to undertake all relevant pre-employment checks. They should also put a process in place to check that locum staff are up to dare with mandatory training before employment.
- They should improve current processes so that learning and trends and themes arising from significant events and incidents are shared with all staff at regular minuted meetings as a standard agenda item.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice