Welling Medical Practice

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

We looked for evidence that staff involved people in decisions about their care and treatment and provided them advice and support. Staff regularly reviewed people’s care and worked with other services to achieve this

At our last inspection in September 2021, we rated this key question as Good. At this assessment, the rating remains the same.

This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service made sure patient’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

Reception staff were aware of the needs of the local community. Reception staff used digital flags within the care records system to highlight any specific individual needs, such as the requirement for longer appointments or for a translator to be present. Staff checked patient’s health, care, and wellbeing needs during health reviews. Clinical staff used templates when conducting care reviews to support the review of patients’ wider health and wellbeing. The provider had effective systems to identify patients with previously undiagnosed conditions. Staff could refer patients with social needs, such as those experiencing social isolation or housing difficulties, to a social prescriber.

The service planned and delivered patients’ care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards. Systems were in place to ensure staff were up to date with evidence-based guidance and legislation.

The service worked well across teams and services to support patients. They made sure patients only needed to tell their story once by sharing their assessment of needs when patients moved between different services.

Staff had access to the information they needed to appropriately assess, plan, and deliver patient’s care, treatment, and support. The practice worked with other services to ensure continuity of care, including where clinical tasks were delegated to other services. The practice was involved with monthly Primary Care Network (PCN) and safeguarding meetings, and one of the GP partners attended a quarterly meeting within the borough to collaborate with the wider network on improving the quality of care.

The service supported patients to manage their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. The service supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.

Staff focussed on identifying risks to patients’ health, including those in the last 12 months of their lives, patients at risk of developing a long-term condition and those with caring responsibilities. Staff supported national priorities and initiatives to improve population health, including stopping smoking and tackling obesity.

The practice was part of a PCN project which involved them completing reviews for over 60 patients who had chronic kidney disease.

The service routinely monitored patient’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they met both clinical expectations and the expectations of patients themselves.

The practice did not meet national targets for all childhood immunisations. Performance for childhood immunisations had met the national target of 90% for 1 out of 5 indicators (The percentage of children aged 1 who have completed a primary course of immunisation for Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio, Pertussis, Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib), Hepatitis B (Hep B)). The practice had submitted unverified data for the practice achieving over 90% in the indicator relating to the percentage of children aged 2 who have received immunisation for measles, mumps and rubella (one dose of MMR) for the first half of the 2024/2025 year.

The practice had not met national targets for cervical screening and had achieved an uptake of 71.3% for those aged 25-49 years old and 77.3% for those aged 50-64 years old (national target of 80%). Practice staff were able to detail how they continue to encourage the uptake of both screening and immunisations by providing education to patients, offering opportunistic screening or vaccination if attending for another appointment (if time permits), and by offering a range of appointment availability across the PCN.

The service told patients about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.

Staff understood and applied legislation relating to consent. Capacity and consent were clearly recorded. Do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions were appropriate and were made in line with relevant legislation.