Archived: Silverdale Medical Centre - TD Hennessy

Updated 21 January 2016

Silverdale Medical Centre is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide primary care services. It provides GP services for approximately 4800 patients living in Wirral. The practice is situated in a purpose built health centre. The practice has one male GP and three female GPs, a practice management team, practice nurses, administration and reception staff. Silverdale Medical Centre holds a General Medical Services (GMS) contract with NHS England.

The practice is open:

Monday 8am – 7.10pm

Tuesday 7am – 8pm

Wednesday 7am – 8pm

Thursday 8am – 7.10pm

Friday 8am to 6pm

Patients can book appointments in person, via the telephone or online. The practice provides telephone consultations, pre-bookable consultations, urgent consultations and home visits. The practice treats patients of all ages and provides a range of primary medical services.

The practice is part of Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and is situated in an affluent area. The practice population is made up of a mostly elderly population with 52% of the population aged over 65 years old. Fifty eight percent of the patient population has a long standing health condition and there is a much lower than national average number of unemployed patients (only 0.8%).

The practice does not provide out of hours services. When the surgery is closed patients are directed to the local out of hour’s service provider (Wirral GP Out of Hours service) and NHS 111 for help. Information regarding out of hours services is available on the website and on the telephone message.

Updated 21 January 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Silverdale Medical Centre on 1 December 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
• Patients were treated with care, compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment. They were not rushed at appointments and full explanations of their treatment were given. They valued their practice and felt confident with the skills and abilities of staff.
• The practice implemented suggestions for improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a consequence of feedback from patients and from the patient participation group. For example the implementation of a carers group.
• Information about services and how to complain was available.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that there was continuity of care, with routine and urgent appointments available the same day.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.

There was an area where the provider could make improvements and they should ensure:

• That the procedures for storage of paper records meets health and safety and fire regulations in accordance with the Department of Health's code of Practice for Records Management (NHS Code of Practice 2006) and other relevant guidance about information security and governance.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 21 January 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with long-term conditions.

The practice maintained and monitored registers of patients with long term conditions for example cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure. These registers enabled the practice to monitor and review patients with long term conditions effectively.

• Clinical staff had lead roles in chronic disease management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority.

• Performance indicators for management of diabetes were all above national average.

• Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed.

• All these patients had a named GP and a structured annual review to check that their health and medicines needs were being met. Systems ensure patient recalls are highlighted.

• For those people with the most complex needs, the named GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

Updated 21 January 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of families, children and young people.

• There were systems in place to identify and follow up children living in disadvantaged circumstances and who were at risk, for example, children and young people who had a high number of A&E attendances.

• Immunisation rates were high for all standard childhood immunisations with the majority of immunisations uptake at 100%.

• Patients told us that children and young people were treated in an age-appropriate way and were recognised as individuals, and we saw evidence to confirm this.

• The percentage of women aged 25-64 whose notes recorded that a cervical screening test had been performed in the preceding five years was above the national average at 86%.

• Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies.

• We saw good examples of joint working with midwives, health visitors and school nurses.

Updated 21 January 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people.

Nationally reported data showed that outcomes for patients were good for conditions commonly found in older people.

• The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population and had a range of enhanced services, for example, in dementia and end of life care.

• The percentage of people aged 65 or over who received a seasonal flu vaccination was higher than the CCG and national averages.

• It was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits (including to their patients in care homes) and urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs. The practice had a community nurse who carried out routine visits to elderly patients for reviews and vaccinations/immunisations.

Updated 21 January 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of working-age people (including those recently retired and students).

• The needs of the working age population, those recently retired and students had been identified and the practice had adjusted the services it offered to ensure these were accessible, flexible and offered continuity of care. For example the practice offered early morning, lunchtime and evening appointments face to face or via the telephone.

• The practice was proactive in offering online services as well as a full range of health promotion and screening that reflects the needs for this age group.

Updated 21 January 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).

The practice had a mental health and dementia lead. They carried out memory testing for dementia on site at the practice and were able to signpost patients experiencing poor mental health to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.

• It carried out advance care planning for patients with dementia and 78% of people diagnosed with dementia had had their care reviewed in a face to face meeting in the last 12 months.

• 92% of people experiencing poor mental health had a comprehensive, documented care plan in place

• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of people experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia.

• The practice had told patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.

• It had a system in place to follow up patients who had attended accident and emergency where they may have been experiencing poor mental health.

• Staff had a good understanding of how to support people with mental health needs and dementia.

• All patients with poor mental health were given extended appointments.

Updated 21 January 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.

• The practice held a register of patients living in vulnerable circumstances including those with a learning disability.

• It offered longer appointments for people with a learning disability.

• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable people.

• It had told vulnerable patients about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.

• Staff were familiar with patients from this group and knew and understood family dynamics.

• Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse in vulnerable adults and children. Staff were aware of their responsibilities regarding information sharing, documentation of safeguarding concerns and how to contact relevant agencies in normal working hours and out of hours.