Patience Lane Surgery Also known as Dr Praveen Gutta

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

We carried out an announced assessment of one quality statement, equity of access, under the key question Responsive. We found that the practice had developed and organised services to meet patients’ needs. We saw evidence which showed that the practice used people’s feedback and other evidence to actively seek and improve access for people. For example, following a leak which had caused the temporary use of portacabins to deliver services, the practice had undertaken a sample survey of patients to assess their views of these arrangements. We saw the practice offered high levels of patient choice, when they contacted the practice whey were offered the opportunity to choose which type of appointment they would prefer. Services were designed to make appointments accessible and timely for people including those most likely to have difficulty accessing care. The provider prioritised, allocated resources and developed opportunities as needed to tackle inequalities and achieve equity of access. For example, we were informed how the practice had adopted improvements after a recent visit by the local learning disability team. This included the use of picture signage to increase understanding. The practice monitored, reviewed and analysed data and feedback related to patient’s experiences when accessing care at the service. Where negative feedback was received, or opportunities to improve were identified, the practice responded with plans implemented and changes designed to improve access, patients’ experiences, and satisfaction levels. The practice undertook their own surveys and engagement exercises with patients and evaluated their responses.

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.

In the 2023 National GP Patient Survey, the practice’s results for satisfaction for the ability of patients to contact the practice by telephone, and their experiences of their appointments were higher than national and local averages. Adaptations were available for those whose first language was not English, and for patients who had information and communication needs related to a disability, impairment or sensory loss. For example, patients with a learning disability were offered longer appointments with staff they were used to being treated by.

Leaders we spoke with demonstrated they were aware of the challenges to patient access, and had acted to maintain and improve services. The practice created action plans in response to the National GP Patient Survey, and used their own in-house surveys and patient engagement to assess patient views of the services provided. Following the analysis of patient views the practice had put into place measures to improve access such as the recruitment of additional reception and administration staff, and had also appointed an additional Advanced Nurse Practitioner and an additional practice nurse who were due to start at the practice at the end of March 2024. In addition to surveys the practice had participated in a programme to improve practice processes and improve access. Activities included auditing telephone usage. As a result of this work the practice ceased offering repeat prescription requests and pharmacy queries by telephone (unless reasonable adjustments and patient needs necessitated this), and had moved to accepting these via a dedicated email account. This action freed up telephone lines for appointment booking. In addition, we heard how the practice had simplified the need to call in patients to discuss test results. Clinicians rang patients directly to discuss their results, and only called them in should this be necessary. The practice also told us that following feedback from their PPG that they had simplified their telephone system automated call options to make it easier for patients to contact reception to discuss their needs. We saw data from the practice which showed that in March 2023 5,067 telephone calls had been answered with an average waiting time of 57 seconds, in February 2024 the practice had answered 5,418 calls and the waiting time had fallen to 41 seconds. The leaders explained they provided opportunities and support for different groups of the patient population to overcome health inequalities.

Patients could book appointments by telephone, online, and in person by visiting the practice. Information regarding access was displayed in the practice and online. Appointments were available face to face, by telephone, online or as a home visit. Urgent and same day appointments, and pre-bookable in advance appointments were offered by the practice. The practice informed us that on booking an appointment patient’s were offered the choice of appointment type. The told us that around 90% of appointments were face to face. On the day of our assessment, we were informed by the practice that the waiting times for a routine appointment was 1 to 2 days, and a daily on-call doctor was available for emergency care. Patients were able to access home visits from a practice GP or Advanced Nurse Practitioner for both routine and emergency appointments. In addition to this, 2 externally provided teams provided home visits for emergency health problems, and long-term condition support respectively. Patients were also enabled to obtain extended hours appointments on weekday evenings and at weekends and bank holidays through GP Care Wakefield (an organisation owned by all GP practices in the area). We saw that patients from the practice had used this service on 1,236 occasions in the previous 12 months for a range of appointments which included 807 routine appointments, 57 appointments for blood tests and 9 for cervical smears. The practice had arrangements in place for prioritising patients. Staff were trained and supported by protocols to book appointments with members of the practice clinical team, or to signpost patients to other appropriate services. By working with other practices in their Primary Care Network patients also accessed services delivered by other clinical staff including pharmacists, a mental health practitioner, and support from a care coordinator. The practice had introduced processes to reduce the incidences of patients who failed to attend appointments.

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.