The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Queensway Medical Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Queensway, Poulton-Le-Fylde, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY6 7ST (01253) 890219

Provided and run by:
Queensway Medical Centre Poulton

All Inspections

19 December 2023

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out a targeted assessment of Queensway Medical centre in relation to the responsive key question. This assessment was carried out on 19 December 2023 without a site visit. Overall, the practice is rated as Good. We rated the key question of responsive as Good.

Safe - Good

Effective – Good

Caring - Good

Responsive – Good

Well-led – Good

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for the Queensway Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

This inspection was a targeted assessment of the key question of responsive.

How we carried out the inspection

This inspection was carried remotely.

This included:

  • Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
  • Requesting evidence from the provider.

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 found that:

  • Patients who responded to the National GP Survey were satisfied with access to the practice. The had practice performed slightly above national averages.
  • The practice used performance data to target and improve access.
  • The practice understood the needs of its local population and were developing services accordingly.
  • The practice had worked collaboratively within its primary care network and GP federation to ensure additional types of appointments and extended hours were available.
  • The practice dealt with complaints in a timely manner and learned from them.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

  • Continue to develop solutions to provide better access to their patients.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Healthcare

31 May 2022

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced inspection at Queensway Medical Centre on 31 May 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as Good.

The key question ratings are as follows:

Safe - Good

Effective – Good

Caring – Good

Responsive – Good

Well-led – Good

Following our previous inspection on 20 June 2016, the practice was rated good overall and for all key questions except for the responsive key question which was rated outstanding.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Queensway Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

This inspection was a comprehensive inspection to check the provider was complying with the regulations under the Health and Social Care Act 2008. We inspected all five key questions to determine if the service is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.

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 remotely using video conferencing;
  • Speaking with the PPG chair remotely via the telephone;
  • 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 for remote analysis;
  • A shorter site visit;
  • Further communications for clarification.

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;

• information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as Good overall

We found that:

  • Practice leaders engaged positively in the inspection process and staff provided positive feedback on their experience of working at the practice;
  • The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of person-centre care;
  • Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs however the monitoring of high-risk medicines was in need of review for some patients;
  • The practice was actively engaged in quality improvement and clinical audit activities and had identified areas for development to ensure continuous improvement;
  • The practice adjusted how it delivered services to meet the needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic;
  • Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way subject to the available resources of the practice;
  • Recruitment records sampled confirmed staff had been recruited in accordance with legal requirements;
  • Emergency equipment and medicines were in place to ensure an appropriate response to a medical emergency;

We found one outstanding feature:

  • The provider was committed to contributing to the local healthcare economy and improving outcomes for patients. It had engaged in several areas of quality improvement activity which had resulted in reduced onward referrals to secondary care as well as initiating an alert system to improve care for patients nearing the end of life which had been adopted across the CCG patch.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

  • Review the management of patients prescribed high-risk drugs to ensure monitoring is being completed in accordance with recommended best practice guidelines;
  • Provide complainants with a written response to their complaints when appropriate;
  • Continue to support staff to complete outstanding training as identified on practice training records;
  • Rectify maintenance and refurbishment issues within the premises.

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

20/06/2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Queensway Medical Centre on 20 June 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.
  • Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
  • 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.
  • 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 and there was continuity of care, 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.

We saw areas of outstanding practice:

  • The practice lead on a local initiative and was the pilot project to co-ordinate primary care for care home patients. This pilot was rolled out across the local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in November 2015. According to figures supplied by the pilot the total number of non elective hospital admissions in the same six month period had reduced by 30%. The practice was now involved in the second stage of the project which aimed to provide a similar service to house-bound patients.

  • The practice employed a practice matron to improve the identification of and holistic anticipatory care and care planning for vulnerable housebound patients in an effort to continue to reduce avoidable hospital admissions.

  • A new practice staffing structure had been developed by the practice to offer more appointments to patients, when GP recruitment had been problematic . The practice had reviewed and developed existing staff skills and employed new staff to provide a clinical team that could provide best patient care. This included a clinical practitioner from a paramedic background who saw patients with acute health problems. This increased the availability of appointments for patients with all clinicians

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

  • Implement processes for the checking of single use medical consumables to ensure they are in date.

  • Implement systems to update policies which also reflect current guidance

  • Implement more comprehensive risk management procedures

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice