• Doctor
  • GP practice

Archived: Lockfield Surgery

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Croft Street, Willenhall, West Midlands, WV13 2DR (01902) 639000

Provided and run by:
Lockfield Surgery

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 16 January 2017

Lockfield Surgery is situated in the Willenhall area of Walsall. There are approximately 11,535 patients of various ages registered and cared for at the practice. Services to patients are provided under a General Medical Services (GMS) contract with NHS England. The practice has expanded its contracted obligations to provide enhanced services to patients. An enhanced service is above the contractual requirement of the practice and is commissioned to improve the range of services available to patients.

The clinical team consists of a female single handed GP, a male salaried GP and a female salaried GP and two long term locum GPs (one male and one female) who work at the practice on a weekly basis. There are also two nurse practitioners, two practice nurses, a health care assistant, two phlebotomists and a clinical pharmacist. The lead GP, business manager and practice manager form the practice management team and they are supported by a team of 12 members who cover reception, secretarial and administration roles.

Lockfield surgery is open between 8am and 6:30pm on weekdays except for Wednesdays when the surgery closes for half day at 1pm. The surgery also opens earlier for extended hours on Wednesday and Friday mornings from the earlier time of 7am. There are also arrangements to ensure patients received urgent medical assistance when the practice is closed during the out-of-hours period.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 16 January 2017

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Lockfield Surgery, with a visit to the branch site, Raynor Road Surgery on 12 May 2015. Overall the practice is rated as Good.

Specifically, we found the practice to require improvement for providing safe services. It was good for providing an effective, caring, responsive and well led service. It was also good for providing services for older people; people with long-term conditions; families, children and young people; working age people; people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable and people experiencing poor mental health.

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

  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • Patients’ needs were assessed and the practice planned and delivered care following best practice guidance.
  • The practice had a well-established and well trained team with expertise and experience in a range of health conditions. Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses.
  • Lockfield Surgery was clean and hygienic and had arrangements for reducing the risks from healthcare associated infections. The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
  • Although risks to patients who used services were assessed, the systems and processes to address these risks were not implemented well enough to ensure patients were kept safe, the practice did not have a process in place for the testing of fire alarms and fire drills and fire risk was not assessed in the practice.
  • The practice had identified that the branch site was no longer a suitable premises at which to deliver care and treatment and had plans in place to relocate during July 2015.
  • Data showed patient outcomes were average for the locality.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
  • The practice had recognised that internal communication processes was an area which they needed to develop and improve.

The areas where the provider must make improvements are:

  • Ensure fire risk is assessed and document fire risk assessments within the practice.

In addition the provider should:

  • Ensure a consistent process is applied to recording fridge temperatures.
  • Improve internal communication and consider introducing regular meetings involving the whole practice team, ensuring there are mechanisms in place to seek feedback from staff . This would provide opportunities to share information learning from significant events and complaints.
  • Routinely document attendance and input at internal and external meetings.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

People with long term conditions

Good

Updated 16 July 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with long-term conditions. Nursing staff had lead roles in chronic disease management. 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 medication 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.

Families, children and young people

Good

Updated 16 July 2015

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. Childhood Immunisation rates were in line with regional immunisations rates. 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. Appointments were also available outside of school hours.

Older people

Good

Updated 16 July 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people. Nationally reported data showed that outcomes for patients were good for conditions commonly found in older people. The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population and had a range of services, for example, in dementia and end of life care. It was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and rapid access appointments for those with enhanced needs.

Working age people (including those recently retired and students)

Good

Updated 16 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. The practice offered a full range of health promotion and screening that reflected the needs for this age group.

People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia)

Good

Updated 16 July 2015

The practice had told patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations including MIND and SANE. It had a system in place to follow up patients who had attended accident and emergency (A&E) where they may have been experiencing poor mental health. Most staff had received training on how to care for people with mental health needs.

People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable

Good

Updated 16 July 2015

The practice staff told us that they regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable people. It 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.