Archived: Spring Hall Group Practice

Updated 25 July 2018

Spring Hall Group Practice is situated at 173 Spring Hall Lane, Halifax HX1 4JG. There is a branch site at Boots the Chemist 7-11 Market Street, Halifax HX1 1PB. We visited both sites during our inspection. The practice website is Spring Hall Group Practice is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide the following regulated activities:

• Diagnostic and screening procedures
• Treatment of disease, disorder or injury
• Family planning
• Maternity and midwifery services
• Surgical procedures

There are currently 8,646 patients registered on the practice list. The practice provides Personal Medical Services (PMS) under a locally agreed contract with NHS England.

The Public Health National General Practice Profile shows that approximately 35% of the practice population are of black or other minority ethnic groups. The level of deprivation within the practice population is rated as two, on a scale of one to ten. Level one represents the highest level of deprivation, and level ten the lowest. People living in more deprived areas tend to have greater need for health services.

The age/sex profile of the practice shows the practice is largely in line with local and national averages. The average life expectancy for patients at the practice is 76 years for men and 81 years for women, compared to the national average of 79 years and 83 years respectively.

The practice offers a range of enhanced services which include childhood vaccination and immunisation, and minor surgery.

The clinical team comprises six GP partners, two male and four female, and one female salaried GP. The clinical team is completed by two female practice nurses and two female health care assistants. Supporting the clinical team is an operations manager, a locum practice manager, and a range of administrative, reception and secretarial staff.

The main site is open between 8am and 6.30pm Monday to Friday; whilst the branch site is open between 8am and 6pm on Monday, and between 8am to 1.30pm Tuesday to Friday. The practice also acts as host for the local improved access scheme which provides GP appointments between 6.30pm and 8pm Monday to Friday, Saturday and Sunday between 10am and 2pm, and bank holidays between 10am and 11.30am. The improved access scheme is accessible by patients from other practices in their local hub as well as their own. The practice premises at the main site were built in 1999 and the branch site has been operational since 2009. Both sites are accessible to patients with mobility problems, or those who use a wheelchair. There is dedicated parking available at the main site. Parking at the branch site is available at an adjacent pay and display car park.

Out of hours care is provided by Local Care Direct which is accessed by calling the surgery telephone number or by calling the NHS 111 service.

When we returned to the practice for this inspection we checked, and saw that the ratings from the previous inspection were displayed, as required, on the practice website and in the practice premises.

Updated 25 July 2018

This practice is rated as Good overall. The practice was previously inspected on 3 March 2015. On that occasion the practice received a rating of Good overall.

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 Spring Hall Group Practice 21 June 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• 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 updated or improved their processes.
• There were clear governance policies and protocols which were accessible to all staff.
• The practice had responded to patient feedback in relation to access to appointments. As a result, duty doctors were assigned each day to triage requests and offer same day appointments when required.
• The practice undertook quality improvement activity to review and improve the effectiveness and appropriateness of care provided. Care and treatment was delivered in line with current evidence based guidance.
• The practice took part in local initiatives to improve patient experience. They were part of the newly formed ‘Calderdale Group Practice’ which incorporated 11 local practices who shared some ‘back office’ functions to improve resilience.
• The practice had a significant number of patients resident in nursing homes for older people. They provided a monthly ‘ward round’ to monitor the health and well-being of this group of patients.
• We observed staff interacting with patients in a caring and good-humoured way.
• Staff told us the leadership team was supportive and approachable.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are :

• Maintain monitoring processes to ensure that all medicines are checked regularly and out of date medicines are replaced in a timely manner.
• Improve patients’ experience of making a complaint by including Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman details on all correspondence to patients, including email.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGPChief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 25 July 2018

Updated 25 July 2018

Updated 25 July 2018

Updated 25 July 2018

Updated 25 July 2018

Updated 25 July 2018