The Care Quality Commission
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Archived: Stockton NHS Healthcare Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

High Newton Road, Hardwick, Stockton On Tees, Cleveland, TS19 8RH (01642) 525480

Provided and run by:
Virgin Care Stockton LLP

All Inspections

7 December 2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Stockton NHS Health care Centre on 7 December 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

  • There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
  • The practice and walk-in centre had experienced problems with staff recruitment and had been mainly staffed by locum GPs and nurses; however they had just recruited an advanced nurse practitioner into the clinical lead role.

  • Risks to patients were assessed and managed, however due to staffing issues multi-disciplinary team meetings regarding safeguarding and palliative care had not been taking place.

  • Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
  • Mainly 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. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
  • Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment, although not with a named GP, with urgent appointments available the same day.
  • 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.
  • The practice was in an exit period as the contract to provide care to patients for the GP practice and the walk-in centre had been awarded to another provider from April 2017.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

Safeguarding and palliative care multi-disciplinary meetings should be reinstated.

All staff should be aware of the safeguarding lead.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

25 September 2013

During a routine inspection

During the inspection we spoke with two patients, the service manager and a senior receptionist.

Patients we spoke with were very happy with the care, support and treatment that they received. One person said, 'I have used this practice as a walk in service many times. This is a really good place if you can't get an appointment with your own GP." Another person said, 'Today is the first time I have come here. The service is very good and I would come back.'

We were able to observe the experiences of patients. We saw that staff treated patients with dignity and respect. We saw that patients had their care, support and treatment needs assessed and that treatments plans were in place.

We saw that patients were protected from abuse and that staff received support and training to deliver care and treatment safely.

We saw that patients were treated in safe, accessible surroundings.

We saw that there were effective recruitment and selection processes in place.