Background to this inspection
Updated
3 November 2021
Hednesford Medical Practice is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as a partnership GP provider. The practice provides primary medical services to approximately 6,366 registered patients.
The practice is located at Hednesford Valley Health Centre, Station Road Hednesford, Cannock, WS12 4DH. The provider is registered with CQC to deliver the Regulated Activities; diagnostic and screening procedures, surgical procedures, family planning, maternity and midwifery services and treatment of disease disorder or injury from this location only.
The practice is part of the NHS Cannock Chase Clinical Commissioning Group and holds a General Medical Services (GMS) contract with NHS England. A GMS contract is a contract between NHS England and general practices for delivering general medical services and is the commonest form of GP contract.
The practice is in an area of average deprivation. Demographically the average life expectancy and age profile of patients is comparable with local and national averages. The percentage of patients with a long-term condition is 64.4% which is higher than the local CCG average of 55.7% and higher than the national average of 51.4%, meaning a higher demand for services. The National General Practice Profile describes the practice ethnicity as being 97.8% white British, 0.9% mixed race, 1% Asian, 0.3% black and 0.1% other non-white ethnicities.
The practice staffing comprises:
- One GP Partner (male)
- One non-clinical partner
- One long-term locum GP (female)
- One Salaried GP (male)
- One Nurse Practitioner
- Two Physician Associates
- Two Practice Nurses
- One locum Clinical Pharmacist
- A practice manager, a reception manager and a team of administrative and reception staff.
The practice core opening hours are Monday to Friday between 8am and 6.30pm. Patients can access extended hours appointments provided by the practice on a Wednesday morning from 7.30am and on a Thursday evening until 7.30pm with a practice nurse and a physician associate. Patients can also access additional extended hours GP appointments through the Cannock Practices Network based at Cannock Hospital and these can be booked in advance by calling the practice during usual opening hours. These appointments are available Monday to Friday 6.30pm to 8pm and on a Saturday and Sunday from 9am and 1pm.
The practice is part of a wider network of GP practices, including North Cannock Primary Care Network, GP First and Cannock Chase Clinical Alliance.
Due to the enhanced infection prevention and control measures put in place since the pandemic and in line with the national guidance, most GP appointments were telephone consultations. If the GP needs to see a patient face-to-face then the patient is offered an appointment at the practice.
Updated
3 November 2021
We carried out an announced inspection at Hednesford Medical Practice on 20 September 2021. Overall, the practice is rated as Good.
The ratings for each key question are as follows:
Safe - Good
Effective – Good
Caring - Good
Responsive – Requires Improvement
Well-led – Good
Why we carried out this inspection
This comprehensive inspection was carried out following changes to registration and legal entity as a result of the mergers of two practices, Hednesford Medical Practice and Dr Murugan and Partner Surgery in July 2020. The change resulted in Hednesford Medical Practice changing from a sole provider GP service to a partnership GP service. This was the practice’s first inspection as a partnership following the merger.
At our previous inspection of Hednesford Medical Practice on 5 February 2020, the practice was rated Good overall and for all key questions.
At our previous inspection of Dr Manickam Murugan’s surgery on 12 March 2019, the practice was rated Requires Improvement overall.
The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Hednesford Medical Practice and Dr Manickam Murugan’s surgery on our website at www.cqc.org.uk
How we carried out the inspection
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
- A 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 and Requires Improvement for providing responsive services and Requires Improvement for all population groups. This was because of the concerns raised regarding timely access to the service and the lower than average National Patient survey satisfaction results. This affected all population groups.
We found that:
- The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm. Patient records clearly detailed how the practice had responded to safeguarding concerns.
- 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 had identified a high percentage of the patient population as carers.
- The practice adjusted how it delivered services during the COVID-19 pandemic, however the National Patient Survey Results for 2021 were below local and national averages. The practice had produced an action plan in response to this and advised an in-house survey would be undertaken in November 2021.
- The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care. Staff reported they were well supported in their work despite the challenging times, significant staff changes, merger of the two practices and changes in partnership.
Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:
- Ensure all recruitment checks are undertaken
- Address all outstanding training for staff.
- Further explore and implement strategies to increase the update of cervical cancer screening and childhood immunisations.
- Review the security of the vaccine fridge and improve monitoring of the fridge temperature checks.
- Respond to patient feedback to improve patient satisfaction in relation to access.
Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.
Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP
Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care