Archived: Newton Medical Centre

Updated 5 November 2015

Newton Medical practice is located in the Newton Le Willows area of Merseyside. It is responsible for providing primary care services to approximately 4183 patients. The practice population are of mixed gender and ages.

The staff team includes one regular GP who is not directly employed by SSP Health Ltd with additional GP services provided by locum and self-employed GPs. There is a practice manager, administration manager, and reception and administration staff. The practice is open 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday and offers extended opening hours on a Wednesday until 7.30pm. Patients requiring a GP outside of normal working hours are to contact the St Helens GP Rota services.

The practice has a General Medical Service (GMS) contract and also offers enhanced services for example; extended, minor surgery, flu and shingles vaccinations and learning disability health checks.

During the inspection we discussed with the provider the need to add the regulated activity of surgical procedures to their registration. They agreed to make an application to the CQC as a matter of urgency.

Updated 5 November 2015

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Newton Medical Centre on 26 August 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 to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
• 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.
• 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.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

• The practice provided an individualised service to patients with suspected heart conditions. Patients were referred to a cardiologist to support early diagnosis and treatment this service was funded by the practice.
• The practice had a system in place that allocated specific areas for administration staff to take the lead, for example there was a cancer care lead. The designated member of staff would ring patients and ask if the practice could offer any further support either through their own services or by accessing other services. If the patient expressed that they felt unwell this information was shared with a clinician to follow up.
• The practice staff had undertaken dementia training and had become ‘Dementia Friends’ (this is an Alzheimer’s Society initiative to support people to learns a little bit more about what it's like to live with dementia and then turns that understanding into action to support people living with dementia to live well). The members of the Patient Participation Group had also been given the opportunity to undertake this training.
• The practice had a system in place to ensure that a celebratory card was sent to new parents included with the card was an early years fact sheet that provided parents with a schedule of when immunisation would be carried out. It also provided information about the types of healthcare checks that would be made to ensure their baby was healthy and receiving the appropriate healthcare support.

• The practice was instrumental in providing a guide for parents and carers of children aged birth to five years. This guide provided information and guidance to manage general welfare, the first few months such as teething issues and childhood illnesses. This guide had been very successful and had been shared by the CCG with all practices in the area.

There were areas where the provider should make improvements.

Importantly the provider should:

• Ensure that the practice website contains sufficient health promotion information for patients.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 5 November 2015

The practice is rated good for the care of people with long-term conditions. These patients had a six monthly review with either the GP and/or the nurse to check that their health and medication. The practice had a system in place that allocated specific areas for administration staff to take the lead, for example there was a cancer care lead. The designated member of staff would ring patients and ask if the practice could offer any further support either through their own services or by accessing other services. If the patient expressed that they felt unwell this information was shared with a clinician to follow up.

Updated 5 November 2015

The practice is rated good for the care of families, children and young people. There were systems in place to identify and follow up children living in disadvantaged circumstances and who were at risk, for example, children and young people who had a high number of A&E attendances. The practice met with a health visitor on a weekly basis to discuss any safeguarding issues as well as those children who had long term conditions. Immunisation rates were in line with local and national averages for high for all standard childhood immunisations.

The practice had a system in place to ensure that a celebratory card was sent to new parents included with the card was an early years fact sheet that provided parents with a schedule of when immunisation would be carried out. It also provided information about the types of healthcare checks that would be made to ensure their baby was healthy and receiving the appropriate healthcare support.

The practice was instrumental in providing a guide for parents and carers of children aged birth to five years. This guide provided information and guidance to manage general welfare, the first few months such as teething issues and childhood illnesses. This guide had been very successful and had been shared by the CCG with all practices in the area.

Updated 5 November 2015

The practice is rated good for the care of older people. The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population. Home visits were by the practice and a by a rapid access service commissioned by St Helens CCG. Communication with this service robust and details of consultations were accessed by the practice to support them to provider follow up care if required. The practice had regular contact with district nurses and other healthcare professionals to discuss any concerns.

Updated 5 November 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of working-age people (including those recently retired and students). The needs of the working age population, those recently retired and students had been identified and the practice had adjusted the services it offered to ensure these were accessible and flexible. For example the practice opened at 8am for early morning appointments and offered extended hours one day a week until 7.30pm. The practice was proactive in offering online services as well as a full range of health promotion and screening that reflects the needs for this age group.

Updated 5 November 2015

The practice is rated good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia). All patients experiencing poor mental health had received an annual physical health check. The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of people experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia. The practice team had undertaken dementia training and were ’Dementia Friends’ (this is an Alzheimer’s Society initiative to support people to learns a little bit more about what it's like to live with dementia and then turns that understanding into action to support people living with dementia to live well).

Updated 5 November 2015

The practice is rated good for the care of people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable. The practice held a register of patients living in vulnerable circumstances including those with a learning disability. It had carried out annual health checks and longer appointments were available for people with a learning disability. Staff had been trained to recognise signs of abuse in vulnerable adults and children. Staff were aware of their responsibilities regarding information sharing, documentation of safeguarding concerns and how to contact relevant agencies.