Newton 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 assessment of one quality statement, equity of access, under the key question Responsive. We found that the practice had organised services to meet patients’ needs. The practice used people’s feedback and other evidence to actively seek and improve access for people. For example, they regularly reviewed the extended access service to ensure that the right services were being offered to their patients. Services were designed to make them accessible and timely for people including those most likely to have difficulty accessing care. For example, patients with hearing loss were able to book appointments and communicate with the practice via email. The provider prioritised, allocated resources and developed opportunities as needed to tackle inequalities and achieve equity of access. They had plans in place to carry out community engagement in order to promote the use of online services. The practice monitored, reviewed and analysed data and feedback related to patient’s experiences when accessing care at the service, including undertaking regular capacity and demand audits. Where opportunities to improve were identified, the practice responded appropriately to improve access, patients’ experiences, and satisfaction levels.

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.

Patients could book appointments by telephone, online, and in person by visiting the practice. Appointments were available face to face, by telephone, online or as a home visit. Urgent and same day appointments, as well as pre-bookable in advance appointments were available to patients. The practice informed us that on booking an appointment, patients were offered the choice of appointment type and could request to see a specific GP. The practice core opening times are Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm. Extended access appointments are available at the practice on weekday mornings from 7am to 8am. Extended access appointments are also available at other practices within the primary care network on weekdays from 6.30pm to 9.30pm and Saturdays from 9am to 6pm. The practice also offered a consultant-led diabetic clinic on Saturday mornings which helped them to manage difficult diabetic patients. Staff were trained in care navigation and were supported by protocols to book appointments with members of the practice clinical team or to signpost patients to other services. The practice offered access to a variety of clinical staff including GPs, nurses, a pharmacist, a healthcare assistant, and a midwife. Patients also had access to healthy eating coaches and patient ambassadors. To ensure continuity of care, patients had a named GP who they could see at each appointment, where possible. The practice had an active patient participation group who held regular meetings which were attended by a GP and a manager from the practice. Initiatives had been implemented and monitored to improve access, such as referral to the Pharmacy First service, for which the practice was the highest referrer within their primary care network at the time of the assessment. This helped to reduce pressure for appointments for minor self-limiting illnesses. Future plans included improving access for patients with more than 1 long-term condition by reviewing all conditions in 1 appointment.

Leaders demonstrated they were aware of the challenges to patient access. They told us they obtained data and feedback from various sources such as the GP patient survey, friends and family test data, and feedback from patients. The practice acted in response to patient feedback about access, for example increasing the number of early morning extended access appointments at the practice. A capacity and access plan had been created with the practice’s primary care network with the aim of increase capacity within the practice and enhancing access for patients. Leaders explained how they provided support for different groups of the patient population to overcome health inequalities. This included adjustments to how patients could communicate with the practice and offering longer appointment times where required. The practice is classed as dementia friendly. Several members of staff are multilingual, and this aided communication with their patients. Feedback from staff demonstrated that people in vulnerable circumstances were easily able to register with the practice, including those with no fixed abode. The practice was due to have a cloud-based telephony system installed within the next few weeks. They told us they would be reviewing the data that comes from this system and believe the patient call-back feature will improve access and patient satisfaction. The practice promoted the use of their website and online services to improve access and had plans in place to undertake community engagement work to further promote this, however traditional methods of access were available to those who required it.

The 2023 GP patient survey data regarding access showed responses were in line with local and national averages and similar in performance to the previous year’s results. The practice had reviewed the GP patient survey data with their local integrated care board and as part of their primary care network capacity and access plan and had taken action to make improvements. The practice was aware that the response rate was low and told us they were working on publicising this more to their patients. Results from the NHS Friends and Family Test (FFT) were reviewed and found to be positive. For example, in February 2024, 14 people responded to the survey and 100% of respondents rated their experience of the service as very good. CQC received feedback from 21 patients in response to this assessment, all of which were positive about the service. They included comments about helpfulness of staff and ease of access to appointments. The practice carried out its own patient survey through an external market research company. We reviewed results from their 2022 survey and saw that of 45 patient responses, 100% said that they were satisfied with their visit to the practice overall. Adaptations were made 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. The practice was accessible to patients with reduced mobility.

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.