Featherstone Family Health Centre

Updated 24 May 2018

Featherstone Family Health Centre is a well-established GP practice located in Featherstone, Wolverhampton. The practice is situated within an area where there are pockets of deprivation. The practice provides a service to a significant number of children and young adults. Their main population group are patients aged between 40 and 59. At the time of our inspection the practice had 4,700 patients. The practice premises are in a single storey building with good access for cars and with parking bays for patients with a physical disability. There is level access to the building for ease of access for wheelchairs and pushchairs and automated doors to the reception entrance.

The opening times at the practice are between 8am and 6.30pm Monday to Friday. Patients can book appointments in person, on-line or by telephone. Extended hours are available on Monday evening between 6.30pm and 8.15pm. The practice does not provide an out-of-hours service to its own patients but patients are directed to the out of hours service, Northern Doctors Urgent Care/Southern Doctors Urgent Care when the practice is closed. Information is provided to patients about how to access out of hours care through the NHS 111 service.

The team of clinical staff at the practice is made up of three practice nurses (female), two healthcare assistants, two male GP Partners and two regular female locum GPs. The GPs provide the equivalent hours of two full time GPs. A practice manager, secretary/Information technology lead, commissioning administrator, senior receptionist and three receptionists provide management and administration support for the practice as well as a practice employed cleaner.

The practice provides services to patients of all ages based on a General Medical Services (GMS) contract with NHS England for delivering primary care services to their local community. Services provided at Featherstone Family Health Centre include the following clinics; family planning, new patient medical health checks, asthma, diabetic, baby vaccination and wellbeing screening clinics.

Featherstone Family Health Centre is an approved GP training practice for Registrars (qualified doctors who undertake additional specialist training to gain experience and higher qualification in General Practice and family medicine) and medical students.

Further details can be found by accessing the practice’s website at www.featherstone.practiceuk.org.uk

Updated 24 May 2018

We previously carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Featherstone Family Health Centre on 16 August 2017 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches in regulation identified in our previous inspection on 15 May 2017. We found some improvements had been made however, the practice remained rated as requires improvement for providing a safe service and requires improvement in well led.

This inspection was an announced comprehensive inspection carried out on to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches in regulation identified on 16 August 2017. The previous inspection reports can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Featherstone Family Health Centre on our website at

At this inspection, we found:

• The practice had clear 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 strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Implement a more systematic approach to documenting serial numbers for both paper and electronic prescriptions.
• Consider guidance to support receptionists in the recognition of patient symptoms that may require emergency services such as the ‘red flag’ sepsis symptoms.
• Consider further improvements in documenting the learning from incident reporting.
• Consider staff training in the Mental Capacity Act and training to improve the use of electronic care plan templates.
• Implement changes to the practice complaint response document.
• Complete staff vaccination records to ensure these are all maintained in line with current Public Health England guidance and are relevant to their role.

Updated 24 May 2018

Updated 24 May 2018

Updated 24 May 2018

Updated 24 May 2018

Updated 24 May 2018

Updated 24 May 2018