Westcroft House Surgery

Updated 12 February 2019

Westcroft House Surgery provides Primary Medical Services to the town of Egremont and surrounding villages. The practice provides services to approximately 5,000 patients from one location at 66 Main Street, Egremont, Cumbria, CA22 2DB.

The practice is based in a former convent which was converted into a doctors surgery and is owned by the GP partners. Doctors’ consultation rooms are on the ground floor and there is ramp access to the building. The practice is in the centre of Egremont.

The practice has 22 members of staff, including three (one female, two male) GP partners, one (female) salaried GP, one (male) GP registrar, three (female) practice nurses, two healthcare assistants, a practice manager, a medicines manager, a clinical interface manager, and several reception and administrative staff. The practice team also included a care co-ordinator.

The practice is part of Cumbria clinical commissioning group (CCG). Information taken from Public Health England placed the area in which the practice was located in the fifth most deprived decile. In general, people living in more deprived areas tend to have greater need for health services. The practice population reflects the national average in terms of age distribution. Recently the practice took on 500 additional patients from within their existing boundary due to the closure of a nearby surgery.

The surgery is open from 8.00am to 6.30pm on Monday and Friday, and 7.30am to 6.30pm from Tuesday to Thursday. There is open surgery every weekday morning from 8.45am to 10am with a GP, and from 7.30am (8.30am on Monday and Friday) with a nurse. Pre-bookable appointments are available in the afternoon from 1.30pm to 6.30pm. Home visits and telephone appointments are also offered.

The practice provides services to patients of all ages based on a General Medical Services (GMS) contract agreement for general practice. The service for patients requiring urgent medical attention out of hours is through the NHS 111 service and Cumbria Health On Call (CHOC).

Updated 12 February 2019

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous rating November 2015 – Good)

The key questions at this inspection 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 Westcroft House Surgery on 11 December 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
• The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence-based guidelines.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
• There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

We saw some areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice had focused on improving their care of patients with diabetes. This led to 72% of diabetic patients having a care plan in place and 55% achieving one or more of their health goals. This was a marked increase from 16% of diabetic patients having a care plan in 2011, and none achieving their goals. The practice also focused on prevention, identifying 686 patients at risk of developing the condition and referring them to a programme promoting health eating and exercise. Of the 686 at-risk patients, only 70 subsequently developed diabetes.
• The practice had identified 6% of their practice list as carers. They had a carers’ lead who supported them.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice

Please refer to the detailed report and the evidence tables for further information.

Updated 12 February 2019

Updated 12 February 2019

Updated 12 February 2019

Updated 12 February 2019

Updated 12 February 2019

Updated 12 February 2019