Archived: Colliery Court Medical Group

Updated 13 August 2015

Dr Simpson and Partners is located in the Boldon Colliery area of South Tyneside. The practice provides services to around 7700 patients and provides services from the following address, which we visited during this inspection:

• Colliery Court Medical Group, The Medical Centre, Gibson Court, Boldon Colliery, Tyne and Wear, NE35 9AN.

The practice is co-located with another GP practice in the same building. Dr Simpson and partners is to the right hand side of the building. The building is on two levels, with all patient services provided on the ground floor. The premises are purpose built and provide fully accessible treatment and consultation rooms for patients with mobility needs. Ramps are in place both at the front door and within the car park. Car park bays are provided close to the building, with some reserved for patients with disabilities. There is a disabled toilet situated off the waiting room, as well as toilets for all patients to use.

The practice provides services to patients of all ages based on a Personal Medical Services (PMS) contract agreement for general practice.

The practice has four GP partners. There is also one salaried GP; one GP Registrar (fully-qualified doctors who spend time working in a practice to develop their skills in general practice); two practice nurses; one healthcare assistant and a team of administrative support staff. There are both male and female clinical staff at the practice, with three female and three male doctors.

Surgery opening times are Monday to Friday 8:30am to 6:00pm, with late opening on alternate Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 8:30am to 8:00pm.

The service for patients requiring urgent medical attention out of hours is provided by the 111 service and Northern Doctors Medical Services Limited.

The practice serve an area with lower levels of deprivation affecting children and people aged 65 and over, when compared to other practices in the local CCG, and the England average. The practice’s population includes more patients aged under 18 years and aged 65 and over, than other practices in the local CCG area.

The average male life expectancy is 77 years and the average female life expectancy is 81. Both of these are two years lower than the England average. The number of patients reporting with a long-standing health condition is higher than the national average (practice population 56.1% compared to a national average of 54.0%). The number of patients with health-related problems in daily life is slightly higher than the national average (49.5% compared to 48.8% nationally). There are a higher number of patients with caring responsibilities at 24.27% compared to 18.2% nationally.

Updated 13 August 2015

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Dr Simpson and Partners on 9 June 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 report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was appropriately recorded and reviewed;
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed;
• The practice was clean, hygienic and good infection control arrangements were in place;
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance;
• The practice had scored well on clinical indicators within the Quality and Outcomes Framework. They achieved 93.2% for the year 2013/14, which was 0.9 percentage points below the CCG Average and 0.9 above the England Average.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and that they were involved in decisions about their care and treatment;
• Information about the services provided and how to raise any concerns or complaints, was accessible and easy to understand;
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment and urgent same-day access was available;
• 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 the management team. The practice actively sought feedback from patients;
• We found there was good staff morale and a learning culture in the practice.

However, there was areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

The provider should:

• Ensure that the serial numbers of blank prescriptions are recorded in accordance with national guidance to reduce the risk of theft or misuse.
• Ensure there are warning signs to highlight the dangers presented by the storage of oxygen within the practice and to alert the emergency services, such as the fire brigade, in the event of a fire.
• Undertake the recommended actions identified in the risk assessment, to protect against the risk of legionella.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 13 August 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with long-term conditions. Nursing staff had lead roles in chronic disease management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority. Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed. These patients had a named GP and a structured annual review to check that their health and medication needs were being met. For those people with the most complex needs, the named GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

Updated 13 August 2015

The practice is rated as 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. Immunisation rates were in line with local averages for all standard childhood immunisations. Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies. We saw good examples of joint working with midwives and health visitors. Cervical screening rates for women aged 25-64 were slightly below the national average at 76.6%, compared to 81.9%. The practice planned to improve this rate by taking over management of the invite and appointment process themselves.

Updated 13 August 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people. Nationally reported data showed that outcomes for patients were good for conditions commonly found in older people. The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in their population and provided a range of enhanced services, for example, in dementia and end-of-life care. Staff were responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and rapid access appointments for those with enhanced needs.

Updated 13 August 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 they offered to ensure these were accessible, flexible and offered continuity of care. The practice was proactive in offering online services as well as a full range of health promotion and screening that reflected the needs for this age group.

Updated 13 August 2015

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with poor mental health (including patients with dementia). The practice held a register of patients experiencing poor mental health and there was evidence they carried out annual health checks for these patients. The practice regularly worked with the multi-disciplinary teams in case management of people experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia.

The practice had told patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations including MIND and SANE. They had systems in place to follow up patients who had attended Accident and Emergency (A&E).

Updated 13 August 2015

The practice is rated as 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 who misuse substances and those with a learning disability. They carried out annual health checks for people with a learning disability. They offered longer appointments for those who required them.

They had told vulnerable patients about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations. Staff knew how 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 in normal working hours and out of hours.