The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

West Timperley Medical Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

21 Dawson Road, West Timperley, Altrincham, Cheshire, WA14 5PF (0161) 929 1515

Provided and run by:
West Timperley Medical Centre

All Inspections

6 July 2023

During a monthly review of our data

We carried out a review of the data available to us about West Timperley Medical Centre on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.

This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.

If you have concerns about West Timperley Medical Centre, you can give feedback on this service.

31/10/2022

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out an announced inspection and site visit at West Timperley Medical Centre on 31 October 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as Good.

Safe - Good

Effective - Good

Caring - Good (rating awarded at the inspection 19 December 2015)

Responsive – Good (rating awarded at the inspection 19 December 2015)

Well-led - Good

The practice was also rated Good at our previous inspection on 19 December 2015 and outstanding for the well led key question. At this inspection, we found that those areas previously regarded as outstanding practice were now embedded throughout the majority of GP practices. While the provider had maintained this good practice, the threshold to achieve an outstanding rating had not been reached.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for West Timperley Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection/review

We undertook this inspection as part of a selection of services rated good and outstanding who have not been inspected for five years or more.

How we carried out the inspection/review

Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently.

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.

This included

  • Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing
  • Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system and discussing findings with the provider
  • Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider
  • Requesting evidence from the provider
  • Feedback from staff using questionnaires
  • A short 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 have rated this practice as Good overall.

We found that:

  • The practice cared for patients in a way that kept them safe and protected them from avoidable harm, this included safeguarding and management of risk.
  • Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
  • Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
  • The practice adjusted how it delivered services to meet the needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
  • The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.

We saw areas of outstanding practice. These included:

  • West Timperley Medical Centre were committed to ensuring they delivered safe and effective care. They encouraged all staff to undertake quality improvement work and the management and clinical team worked together to develop searches and identify potential cohorts of patients who may require extra care. One of the biggest areas recently developed was the heart failure work. Their new practice nurse had a clinical interest in heart failure. When they joined the practice they developed a new protocol of care for those patients and this was reviewed by the partners and they were given protected time each week to carry out this work. All the heart failure patients had now been reviewed and received an individual care plan which explained their risks and enabled them to contact the practice nurse whenever they may be deteriorating.
  • They had identified that the systems in place for patient access could be better and were working with the NHS England Development team to see if there were better ways of working. They had already carried out interviews with different groups of staff and were considering alternatives to AskMyGp to review the efficacy of their appointment system.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

  • Continue to work with patients to encourage the uptake of cervical screening.
  • Check that all patients with hypothyroidism are receiving appropriate monitoring.
  • Review historically retained tasks in the document system to ensure none have been missed.
  • Continue with the plan to complete summarising of outstanding patient records.
  • Remove and mitigate the risk of blinds in the practice with pull chords as discussed.

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 Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services

19 November 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at West Timperley Medical Practice on 19 November 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

  • Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. There was an open and transparent approach to safety and opportunities for learning were maximised within the practice.

  • Risks to patients were assessed and well managed and we saw evidence that actions were taken when things went wrong.
  • Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance.
  • Staff had 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.
  • Patients spoke highly of the practice, the staff and the service. Negative comments received related to some difficulties obtaining an appointment, or waiting a long time once they arrived at the surgery. All patients said they could see a named GP and that there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
  • The practice was very responsive and adjusted their services to fit in with patient needs.
  • 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.
  • A member of staff told us the practice reflected the aims of the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to see patients in the right place at the right time by the right person. The practice used this motto to design their services, including recruitment, and to achieve the best possible outcomes for the patients.

We saw some areas of outstanding practice :

  • There was a culture of openness and teamwork within the practice which was described by all the staff we spoke to and evidenced in positive outcomes for patients.

  • All staff reported that they felt supported by, and were able to be supportive to their colleagues; they all said they were encouraged to discuss patient and staff comments or concerns and knew the lines of escalation. We saw examples where positive outcomes for patients and staff had been achieved.

  • We saw pro-active searches of patient data and a clinical audit programme which ensured action was taken when mistakes were made. The practice took robust steps to prevent missed diagnoses and to ensure the needs of patients were met.

  • We observed a strong patient-centred culture and found many positive examples to demonstrate how patient’s choices and preferences were valued and acted on.

However we also saw areas where the practice should make improvements :

  • We saw that prescription pads although locked away, were not logged in and out when they were used. The practice should have a system to keep track of prescriptions which were written and/or removed from the premises such as in the event of home visits.

  • We were given several examples, from both patients and staff, of positive significant events which had not been recorded and formally discussed. Recording, sharing and discussing positive events as well as negative ones would enable the practice to enhance the good services they provided

The practice should undertake legionella testing and change the disposable curtains on an annual basis.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice