Prospect 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

We carried out an announced focussed assessment of one quality statement, equity of access, under the key question ‘Responsive’ and found: Patients reported above average levels of satisfaction with access to the service. Leaders used people’s feedback and actively monitored data to 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 provider sought to tackle inequalities and achieve 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.

Patient appointments were available either online, face to face, telephone, or as a home visit. Patients could also have text messaging or video call contacts. Patients could book appointments by telephone, online, attending at the surgery, and could also submit medical or admin requests online via the practice website. The practice actively monitored the balance of pre-bookable appointments and same day appointments, including those the patient could book themselves on-line, and regularly adjusted this to ensure need was met. The practice regularly monitored their patient list to ensure it was accurate and up to date, so they had an accurate understanding of likely needs and demands. As the practice had good appointment availability, they did not clinically triage as a matter of course, however if all appointment slots were filled the duty GP could then clinically triage any further same day appointments using embargoed, or occasionally extended access slots. Patients could book routine appointments up to 4 weeks in advance. Patients under the age of 5 or over the age of 75, presenting unwell were offered a same day appointment where necessary. The core opening hours of the practice were between 8am and 6pm, with extended access in the local area available until 8pm during the week, and 9am-5pm on Saturdays.

Patient appointments were available either online, face to face, telephone, or as a home visit. Patients could book appointments by telephone, online, or walking in. A mixture of on the day and pre-bookable appointments were available. The practice actively monitored staffing rotas and demand in order to change if necessary. The practice demonstrated that they quite often had unused appointments by the end of the day, mainly for on the day appointments and clinical triage appointments, showing good capacity and demand management. Extended hours access was available through the Primary Care Network, Monday to Friday on an evening between 6.30pm and 8pm and on a Saturday 9am – 5pm. The practice had arrangements in place for prioritising patients. Staff had completed care navigation training and were able to signpost to a number of self-referral services including physiotherapists, mental health workers and social prescribers. We reviewed the practice's results in the 2023 national GP patient survey taken from 1 January to 31 March 2023. This found when looking at patients’ responses to how easy it was to get through to someone at their GP practice on the phone, and those who were very satisfied or fairly satisfied with their GP practice appointment times, were above national and local averages. Those who responded positively to the overall experience of making an appointment, and those who were satisfied with their appointment times, were in line with local and national averages. The practice's own patient surveys showed high levels of satisfaction. Patients had access to an interpretation service for patients whom English language was not their first language or had other communication needs. The practice population had high levels of deprivation, and the practice sought to minimise digital exclusion by ensuring sufficient phone access and face to face appointments. Video appointments were an available option but had low take-up from patients.

Leaders demonstrated they were aware of the challenges to patient access and had acted to improve patient access, for instance, by increasing available numbers of GP appointments through strategic recruitment. The practice had recently upgraded their website with more picture signposting for patient’s whose first language was not English, and full web translate facilities were available. Leaders told us they sought to improve access for vulnerable groups, through double or flexible appointments times where necessary, and co-coordinating with carer’s availability. Patients could access a screening health check with no appointment, run by student nurses. Patients who required a follow up appointment were then offered one. The majority of reception staff had completed care navigation training, allowing patients to be accurately directed for their care needs. Patients who required an urgent same day appointment were offered either a face-to-face or phone call appointment with a GP who would clinically triage the patient and either resolve the issue at that appointment, or if over the phone book a further face to face appointment. Leaders monitored phone call data including call waiting times and call abandoned rates and used this information to deploy staff flexibly to meet times of peak demand. This data showed short waiting times before calls were answered (usually under a minute). Feedback from staff demonstrated people in vulnerable circumstances were easily able to register with the practice, including those with no fixed abode such as homeless people and Travellers. The practice provided opportunities and support for different groups of patient population to overcome health inequalities. The practice monitored ‘did not attend’ rates and followed up with patients, particularly for childhood immunisation appointments, to offer an alternative time. GPs would try to contact patients by phone who missed appointments, followed up by a letter if required.

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.