The New Surgery

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

The responsive key question remains rated as good. One quality statement, Equity in Access, was included in this assessment. No breaches of regulation were identified. The practice used people’s feedback and other evidence to actively seek to improve access for people. Services were designed to make them accessible and timely for people who were most likely to have difficulty accessing care. The practice identified and allocated resources as required to improve inequalities and support equity of access.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We did not look at Person-centred Care during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We did not look at Care provision, Integration and continuity during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We did not look at Providing Information during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We did not look at Listening to and involving people during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

The practice understood the needs of its local population and had developed services in response to those needs. The practice told us they obtained feedback from various sources such as the GP patient survey, friends and family, complaints and via informal feedback from patients. The practice told us they did not have a cloud based telephony system but was in the procurement process regarding getting this system installed in the near future. They had increased the staff team answering the phone at the busiest times and trained both receptionists and administration staff in care navigation. The practice had undertaken an audit to determine demand and capacity regarding their appointment system and continued to monitor the availability of appointments and staff on a daily basis. Patients could access appointments by phone, online and by visiting the practice. The practice used a triage system where reception staff would ask the patient for enough information to make a decision regarding which clinician was appropriate for them to see. Face to face appointments were offered as a default position unless the patient preferred a telephone call. Patients were given the option when making an appointment. Patients who had a request for an emergency appointment were seen the same day. The practice website provided information for patients regarding how to book an appointment. The range of options included by telephone, by visiting the practice, by using the online consultation service and the on-line appointment system. The practice also made use of a text message service to send and receive information from patients and an online software system to communicate with patients. Feedback from staff demonstrated people in vulnerable circumstances were able to register with the practice, including those with no fixed abode. The practice told us clinical and admin staff would complete the Oliver McGowan training in learning disability and autism across the next 3 months.

The GP patient survey data from 1 January to 31 March 2023 regarding access indicators found the practice was comparable to the England average. The data showed the practice although comparable did have higher percentages than the England average for 3 indicators. These included, being satisfied with their GP practice appointment times, those who responded positively to the overall experience of making an appointment and those satisfied with the appointment offered. Regarding satisfaction with access by phone the practice scored 48% compared to 50% as an England average. Additionally, this data showed that the responses were either stable or on an upward trend over the last year. The practice provided access to an interpretation service for patients who did not have English language as a first language. The patient record system was used to alert staff to any access requirement the patient had to help enable effective communication with the patient. Information was available in alternative languages, including on the practice website, and easy read materials were available. We found the practice took account of patient feedback and made changes accordingly. We received positive feedback about the practice from 16 patients via Give Feedback on Care between April 2023 and December 2023 .

The practice told us they had provided covid vaccinations from their premises as this helped ensure patient access to these. Patient appointments were available either online, face to face, by telephone, or as a home visit. Patients could book appointments by telephone, online, walking in and could also submit medical or admin requests online via the practice website. Patients could book routine appointments in advance and same-day appointments were available each morning. GP appointments were available from 9am till 6pm every weekday. Additionally there were enhanced access appointments delivered from the practice by their GP Federation every weekday evening and on Saturdays. The practice offered appointments from a variety of clinical staff for example GP, first contact practitioner, mental health practitioner, practice nurse, advanced nurse practitioner, clinical pharmacist and health care assistant. The practice told us they also assess whether patients could be assigned to other services and are promoting self-referral pathways to counsellors, physiotherapists, community mental health teams and community pharmacists. The practice had arrangements in place for prioritising patients. Staff had completed care navigation training and the practice had a triage system for staff to follow. The reception team worked alongside a duty doctor and a senior doctor who oversaw and reviewed the triage process.

We did not look at Equity in experiences and outcomes during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.

We did not look at Planning for the future during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Responsive.