• Doctor
  • GP practice

Archived: Aelfgar Surgery

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Church Street, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 2AB (01889) 579276

Provided and run by:
Aelfgar Surgery

Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 5 December 2019

Aelfgar Surgery is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as a partnership provider. The practice provides primary medical services to approximately 5,819 registered patients from a premises located at Church Street, Rugeley, Staffordshire WS15 2AB.

The provider is registered with CQC to deliver the Regulated Activities; diagnostic and screening procedures, family planning, maternity and midwifery services and treatment of disease disorder or injury and surgical procedures from this location only.

The practice is part of the NHS Cannock Chase Clinical Commissioning Group and holds a General Medical Services (GMS) contract with NHS England. A GMS contract is a contract between NHS England and general practices for delivering general medical services and is the commonest form of GP contract.

The practice area is one of average deprivation when compared with local and national averages. Demographically the average life expectancy and age profile of patients is mainly comparable with local and national averages however, 23% of the practice population are over 65 years old, which is higher than the local average of 20% and the national average of 17%. The percentage of patients with a long-term condition is 62% which is higher than the local CCG average of 58% and the national average of 51%, which could mean an increased demand for GP services. The practice ethnicity is predominantly white British (98%).

The practice staffing comprises:

  • One GP partner (female) and one managing partner.
  • Three salaried GPs (One male and two female).
  • One female nurse practitioner.
  • Two female practice nurses and two health care assistants.
  • A female practice pharmacist.
  • A female physician’s associate.
  • One assistant practice manager and a small team of reception/administrative staff.
  • One domestic.

The practice is a training practice for GP Registrars. GP Registrars are qualified doctors who undertake additional training to gain experience and higher qualifications in general practice and family medicine. The practice also provides placements for Foundation Doctors (these are newly qualified doctors who are gaining a few months supervised general practice experience) and medical student placements. At the time of the inspection the practice had One GP Registrar, one Foundation Doctor (both male) and a medical student.

The practice is open Monday to Friday between 08.00 and 18.30. When the practice is closed patients are directed towards the out of hours provider via the NHS 111 service. The practice is part of a network of GP Practices offering extended opening hours across Stafford, Rugeley and the Seisdon area of Staffordshire. The service operates between 18.30-20.00 weekdays and 09.00 and 13.00 on a Saturday (Stafford) and 09.00 and 11.00 (Rugeley). Opening times for a Sunday and bank holidays are between 10.00 – 12 noon.

Routine appointments can be booked in person, by telephone or on-line. Patients can also access an Online consult service and obtain advice about common ailments. Home visits are triaged and available to patients with complex needs or who are unable to attend the practice.

Further details about the practice can be found by accessing the practice’s website at www.aelfgarsurgery.co.uk 

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 5 December 2019

We carried out an announced focused inspection at Aelfgar Surgery on 4 November 2019 due to the length of time since the last inspection. Following our review of the information available to us, including information provided by the practice, we focused our inspection on the following key questions: Safe, Effective and Well-Led. Because of the assurance received from our review of information we carried forward the ratings for the following key questions: Caring and Responsive.

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

  • What we found when we inspected
  • Information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
  • Information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We previously carried out a comprehensive inspection at Aelfgar Surgery on 8 April 2014. The overall rating was Good. The report on the April 2014 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Aelfgar Surgery on our website at .

We have rated this practice as good overall and good for the population groups.

We found that:

  • The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
  • Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs and was planned and delivered according to evidence-based guidelines.
  • The practice understood the needs of its population and tailored services in response to those needs.
  • Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care, support and treatment and worked together and with other organisations to deliver effective care and treatment.
  • Audits demonstrated quality improvement.
  • Patients were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and were involved in their care and any decisions about their treatment.
  • Staff felt valued and supported by the leadership team.
  • Leaders understood the strengths and challenges of the services provided.
  • There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.
  • The practice had met the seven good practice recommnedations we previously made in relation to providing safe, responsive and well-led services.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

  • Formalise clinical supervision arrangements for staff employed in enhanced roles.
  • Review the security arrangements to ensure the safe storage of all emergency medicines and vaccines held at the practice.
  • Continue to review and improve the uptake of cervical cytology screening.
  • Ensure the required statutory notifications are submitted to CQC.
  • Develop a succession plan and share the mission statement with staff and patients.

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 General Practice