Archived: Deakin Norman Sutcliffe Also known as Minden Family Practices - Deakin Practice

Updated 30 July 2015

Deakin Norman Sutcliffe GP practice is located in Bury town centre, within the Bury Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG.) The practice was responsible for providing treatment to approximately 6100 patients.

The Deakin Norman Sutcliffe partnership is known as the ‘Waves’ practice and is part of the Minden family practice. The partnership comprises two male GPs and a female GP. Each GP holds a personal GP patient list and is only responsible for patients on their list.

The practice is located on the third floor and shares the facilities with two other practices, which locally are referred to as the ‘Minden Family Practices.’ The practice shares with the other two GP practices, a practice nursing team, and a large administrative and reception team led by an operations manager and an IT manager.

Treatment rooms are located on two floors both of which have good sized patient reception areas. There is lift within the building. The building is suitable for disabled patients and those who use a wheelchair. There is a disabled toilet which also provides baby changing facilities. The practice had a hearing loop in the reception area.

The practice is open Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday. Patients can also access evening appointments up to 8pm via the ‘Easy GP’ extended working hours service, which is located within the same building.

Appointments can be booked by telephone, in person, via the practice website, email and online.

The practice has a GMS contract. The General Medical Services (GMS) contract is the contract between general practices and NHS England for delivering primary care services to local communities.

When the practice is closed patients are directed to the out of hour’s service provided by BARDOC a local out-of-hours service.

Updated 30 July 2015

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Deakin Norman Sutcliffe GPs on the 18 May 2015.

Overall the practice is rated as good.

Specifically, we found the practice to be good for providing, safe, effective, caring, and well led services.

It was also good for providing services for the populations groups we rate.

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 safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and managed.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned in line with best practice guidance.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Patients said they could make an appointment with a named GP, with urgent appointments available the same day.
• The practice was equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• Staff felt supported by management.

However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

The provider should:

• A planned programme of staff appraisals should be developed for clinical and non-clinical staff

• Records of meetings held between clinical staff should be developed to provide an audit trail around clinical decisions and formalise governance arrangements.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 30 July 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with long term conditions. The practice has a recall system in place to ensure patients are called for an annual review so the condition can be monitored and reviewed. GPs and practice nurses reviewed patients with chronic diseases. Patients whose long term conditions leave them at increased risk of hospital admission are covered by the ‘Unplanned admission’ enhanced service. These patients have care plans with quarterly reviews and post discharge reviews. The practice is proactive in offering flu and pneumococcal vaccination to those eligible or in at risk groups. For those people with the most complex needs GPs worked with relevant health and social care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

Updated 30 July 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of families, children and young people. Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies. A telephone triage system ensures that poorly children were seen as soon as possible.

GPs held baby clinics for patients on their lists. Nurse led immunisation clinics for young children were held weekly. Family planning services were provided including on site implants and coil services.

The practice worked periodically with midwives, health visitors and school nurses when required.

Baby changing facilities and breast feeding facilities were provided.

Systems were in place for identifying and following-up vulnerable families and who were at risk.

The practice was aware of children on protection registers and used an alert system within the patient record to alert staff to the child’s attendance in surgery. Staff knew what action to take if they had concerns about a child.

Updated 30 July 2015

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 registered with the practice and had a range of enhanced services, for example, avoiding unplanned admissions to hospital and dementia. All patients had a named GP. The practice offered home visits and visits to people who lived in care homes.

Updated 30 July 2015

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. Services included early morning and late evening appointments, pre-bookable appointments and on-line appointment booking and prescription ordering. Appointments with a GP or nurse were available Monday to Friday from 8am.

Access to alcohol screening, smoking cessation and support with weight management was promoted to enable patients to make healthy lifestyle choices.

Online prescription ordering and online appointment booking were available through the practice website and could be accessed by all patient groups. This service was said to be particularly useful for patients who worked and may not have the time to contact the surgery by telephone or by visiting the practice to make an appointment.

The practice is part of the ‘Easy GP’ scheme run by Bury GP Federation. This gives patients access to routine pre bookable and same-day GP appointments at four sites across the Bury area, from 8am to 8 pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 6pm on weekends.

Updated 30 July 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia). People experiencing poor mental health received an annual health check. During reviews mental health plans were discussed and agreed with the patients. Patients in this group were offered longer appointments. Telephone triage services allow for quick response to patients who feel their mental health is deteriorating or are at crisis point.

Updated 30 July 2015

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

The practice participated in a learning disability enhanced service, which meant patients who had a learning disability were invited to attend an annual review with a GP and longer appointments were provided to ensure this patient groups needs were fully assessed.

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. For patients where English was their second language, access to language line and interpreters was available.