Caythorpe & Ancaster Medical Practice

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

We looked for evidence that staff involved people in decisions about their care and treatment and provided them with advice and support. Staff regularly reviewed people’s care and worked with other services to achieve this. At our last assessment, we rated this key question as good. At this assessment, the rating has remained the same.

This service scored 83 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The practice prioritised people’s care and treatment. They had an effective monitoring system in place that allowed appropriate reviewing of people’s health. The practice worked collaboratively with their local primary care network to provide services to a vulnerable group of people who had relocated to the area. The practice worked to understand their individual needs to ensure the best quality care could be provided. Staff used clear coding on their record system to identify specific patient needs.

The practice was passionate about providing care and treatment in line with evidence-based guidance and legislation. The service engaged with external parties to deliver training sessions. This meant that people were receiving up to date, quality care, in line with national guidance. The service had proactively set up its own in-house tutorial and debrief system which provided opportunity for shared learning. This was above and beyond what was expected as the practice took responsibility for giving staff opportunities to develop. The debrief system was meticulously run so that each clinician requiring supervision had daily opportunity to reflect on cases they had seen. The tutorial system covered a wide range of topics. For example, a significant event identified at the practice was used as a teaching session to enhance understanding of a condition to improve care for people in the future who may present with the same symptoms. This way of working benefitted people as complex cases could be reviewed and further action could be taken as if necessary. This ensured people were safe. The staff were encouraged to attend relevant courses to enhance their knowledge and were given time to do so. The service had extensively audited various topics to ensure they followed evidence-based guidance. Continuous learning was important to the practice and this impacted people positively as they received comprehensive care which was reviewed periodically to ensure consistency across clinicians.

The practice consistently worked with external stakeholders and services to support people. The practice worked with other services to ensure continuity of care. This meant that people did not need to relay information more than once. We saw how the service worked within the local community to provide minor surgery on site. This service was run to a good standard where emphasis was placed on considering individuals needs and wishes and liaising with local services to do so. The PPG worked with the practice to develop a comprehensive database of social prescribing services in the area so that people could have access to additional services to further support their health and wellbeing. The practice had dispensaries at both sites and they worked seamlessly together to ensure people could access medicines they needed. We saw an example where a member of staff had liaised with the dispensary and personally delivered medicines to a vulnerable patient who struggled to access the practice so that they would not go without medicines over the weekend. This showed genuine care for the welfare of the people using the service.

The practice supported people to manage their health and wellbeing. The practice appropriately accessed local initiatives to support people with obesity and addiction. The practice’s neighbourhood team were instrumental in an exceptional collaborative venture of a memory café for dementia patients. The café was the first of its kind within the practice’s local network. The café sought to connect individuals in a supportive community on a monthly basis. The café allowed opportunistic dementia reviews to be carried out and for additional support to be accessed in a relaxed atmosphere. This benefitted people and their families as it provided them with a wrap-around approach to care. The success of the café has allowed for other cafés to be set up elsewhere within the area to support people from other practices. The practice placed a strong emphasis on supporting the older population, including patients within the last 12 months of their lives. The practice adopted a holistic approach, involving local care teams and families to support older people. We received positive feedback from local care providers about the practice. We also received feedback from an older person who felt the practice were genuinely interested in their wellbeing and took the time listen and understand their concerns.

The practice routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve how they delivered this. Outcomes were consistent and met both clinician and people’s expectations. We received numerous examples of feedback where people felt they had received appropriate outcomes to consultations. The PPG told us the practice were keen to listen to feedback and ideas for continual improvement of services.

The practice sought consent for procedures and made people aware of any risks associated with the treatment. The practice had a good understanding of how to gain consent and documented this. Respect forms were completed, reviewed regularly with people or their representatives and managed well. There was a clear audit trail of how the practice managed people’s expectations as well as ensuring that their wishes were also respected. We saw evidence of consent being appropriately managed in relation to complaints management.