Archived: Wynyard Road Medical Practice Also known as IntraHealth Limited

Updated 25 May 2016

Wynyard Road Practice is situated close to Hartlepool town centre and close to local bus routes. Parking is available next to the practice and there is disabled access.

The practice provides service under a Alternative Provider Medical Service (APMS) contract to the practice population of 1966 covering patients of all ages and population groups.

The practice has a long term locum GP, an advanced nurse practitioner and a practice nurse. There is a practice manager who works across a further three sites. They are supported by an office supervisor who is in day to day control and by a team of reception and administration staff. There is also further support from within the wider Intrahealth team. This includes access to a further advanced nurse practitioner, members of the organisations pharmacy team and there was finance and data support. In addition, there was some cross working with a further Intrahealth practice based in Hartlepool. They also provide staff to carry out a weekly warfarin clinic.

The practice scored one on the deprivation measurement score, the score goes from one to ten, with one being the most deprived. People living in more deprived areas tend to have greater needs for health services.

The practice was open between 8am to 6pm Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It was open between 8am to 7pm on Tuesdays. A range of appointments were available in line with the opening hours.

The practice has opted out of providing out of hours services (OOHs) for their patients. When the practice is closed patients use the111 service to contact the OOHs provider. There is also an urgent care centre in the town centre.

Updated 25 May 2016

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Wynyard Road Practice on 8 January 2016. 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. Information about incidents was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• 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 said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment and that there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.

• The practice was equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• Staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.

The area where the provider should make improvement is:

• Governance systems and process were not fully developed to monitor and assess the whole service in relation to risk and improvement.This included quality assurance of internal processes.

• A system of recording significant events that detail action taken and lessons learned needs implementing fully.

• Recruitment arrangements should include all necessary employment checks for all staff.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 25 May 2016

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

• 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. 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 25 May 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 relatively high for all standard childhood immunisations.

  Nationally reported data from 2014/2015 showed the percentage of patients diagnosed with asthma, on the register, who had had an asthma review in the preceding 12 months was 71.93% compared to the national average of 75.35%.

• 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.

• Nationally reported data from 2014/2015 showed the percentage of patients diagnosed who have undergone cervical screening was 77.67% compared to the national average of 81.83%.

Updated 25 May 2016

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

• The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population.

• The practice was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs.

• The practice held a register of patients who were at risk of unplanned emergency admission to hospital.

Updated 25 May 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.The practice had adjusted the services it offered to ensure these were accessible, flexible and offered continuity of care.

• 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.

• There was a late night clinic on a Tuesday for people who worked during office hours.

Updated 25 May 2016

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

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

• 81% of patients diagnosed with dementia who had had their care reviewed in a face to face meeting in the last 12 months, which is slightly below the national average.

• They had signed up to the Dementia Enhance Service to increase early diagnosis of people with dementia.

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

• They 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.

Updated 25 May 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.

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

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

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

• 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.