The Care Quality Commission
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  • GP practice

Wallington Family Practice

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

Jubilee Health Centre West, Shotfield, Wallington, Surrey, SM6 0HY (020) 8669 6186

Provided and run by:
Wallington Family Practice

All Inspections

Site visit and staff interviews 15 September 2023, Records review 21 September 2023, Interview with partners 28 September 2023

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Wallington Family Practice on 15 , 21 and 28 September 2023. Overall, the practice is rated as requires improvement.

Safe - requires improvement

Effective - requires improvement

Caring - good

Responsive - requires improvement

Well-led - requires improvement

Following our previous inspection on 9 September 2016, the practice was rated good overall and for all key questions.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Wallington Family Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

We carried out this inspection following a review of information we held. We inspected all of the key questions.

How we carried out the inspection

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site.

This included:

  • Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
  • Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system (this was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements).
  • Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider.
  • Requesting evidence from the provider.
  • A shorter site visit.

Our findings

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

  • what we found when we inspected
  • information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
  • information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We found that:

  • There were gaps in systems to assess, monitor and manage risks to patient safety.
  • Most patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs, but processes to ensure patients’ needs were assessed, and care and treatment was delivered in line with current legislation, standards and evidence-based guidance were not always effective.
  • The practice did not have a consistent and effective system to learn and make improvements when things went wrong.
  • Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
  • Patient satisfaction with access to appointments was in line with other practices nationally. The practice had made changes to how it organised and delivered services to try to better meet patients’ needs. Information as to the impact was incomplete, and it had not assessed whether the changes had made it harder for some patients to access services.
  • There was considerable quality improvement activity, but it had not always been co-ordinated to ensure that it led to improvements in the quality of care.
  • Staff treated patients with kindness, respect and compassion. Feedback from patients was generally positive about the way staff treated people, with above average satisfaction with healthcare staff recorded on the National GP Patient Survey.
  • There was evidence that some governance systems had not worked effectively, particularly those to manage risk, and there was no effective overall oversight mechanism.

We found breaches of regulations. The provider must:

  • Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

The provider should also:

  • Continue to monitor and take action on areas of below average/below target performance in childhood immunisation and cervical screening.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Health Care

9 September 2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Wallington Family Practice on 9 September 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

  • There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
  • Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
  • Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
  • 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. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
  • Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with 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.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

25 November 2013

During a routine inspection

On the day of the inspection we spoke with seven people who used the service some of whom were on the patient participation group. We spoke with the practice manager, reception and clinical staff and we observed the reception area. We saw that there were some issues with the layout of the reception area but efforts were being made to address these.

Overall, people were happy with the service they received. Most people we spoke with had been coming to the practice for some time. One person said 'We have had exemplary service and support from our GP... We appreciate the new facilities' They represent a massive improvement over the previous centre.' Another told us 'There are some very good doctors, they are very approachable, they do listen and take time to explain things.' Two people told us they experienced problems getting through on the phone to make appointments at times.

People said they were involved in discussions about their care and treatment. They also liked the other services such as the X-ray service and blood testing being available in the same building. We looked at some records and spoke to health professionals. We saw people were given information and involved them in discussions about their care and treatment options. One person said we have been given lots of advice from nurses on 'exercise, smoking and eating sensibly.'

We found that people were protected from the risk of abuse because procedures were in place at the practice for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, and staff demonstrated that they were aware of these procedures.

The practice appeared clean and tidy on the day of the inspection. We found that there were appropriate infection control measures in use to reduce the risk of cross infection at the practice.

People were asked for their views and experiences about using the service and this had been used to consider and undertake changes and improvements that people wanted. The provider also undertook audits to monitor and review the quality and safety of the service provided.