Mayflower Medical Centre

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, on 27 March 2024. We found that the practice had systems in place to monitor patient feedback and identify areas for improvement. We saw evidence that the practice had implemented plans to improve access and that patient satisfaction was steadily improving.

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.

Feedback on the NHS.uk website since 2022 showed that patients were happy with the standard of care provided by clinicians. However, 14 of the 24 patients who commented said that they experienced difficulty with securing appointments and with getting through to the practice by telephone. Feedback from 6 patients within the last 12 months was provided by Healthwatch. All 6 patients commented that it was difficult to access an appointment at the practice. The Friends and Family Test (FFT) results for January 2024 indicated that 89% of patients were satisfied with the practice. According to the National GP Patient Survey results the practice had continued to perform below national ‘access’ averages for all key indicators. Between 2021 and 2022 patient satisfaction was on a downward trend for all key indicators. However, since 2022 patient satisfaction has been steadily increasing. Although patient satisfaction around access remained low, the practice has demonstrated that they are monitoring and responding to this feedback. The National GP Patient Survey results are showing that these efforts are having a gradual impact. We spoke with a representative of the Patient Participation Group (PPG). They told us they felt the practice listened to them and was open and honest. They were active in finding ways to improve access including by producing a leaflet advising patients of the best time to call and the types of appointments that were available.

Following advice from NHS England the Practice joined the Intermediate General Practice Improvement Programme (GPIP) in July 2023. This includes a weekly session with a support co-ordinator. The Practice demonstrated that they had systems in place to review patent feedback and have implemented changes to make more appointments available. This included a review of the appointments system where it was found that some ‘Book by Doctor’ slots were not being used. In response the system was changed to allow reception staff to use these appointments if they had not been booked by a doctor one hour before the appointment time. A query desk system was also introduced in January 2024 to provide access to patients when all appointment slots had been filled. This included adding the patient to a list to be reviewed by a Duty Doctor. Patients with pre-booked appointments were contacted to confirm attendance and to limit the number of DNAs, ensuring that any cancelled appointments were made available to other patients. The Practice used call data software to monitor incoming calls and identify busy periods requiring more staff. The Practice told us that when they reached capacity there were few services in the area that patients could be referred to. In addition to this local transport services made it difficult for many patients to travel to other areas for appointments. In response the practice joined a local ‘task group’ with other practices to identify solutions.

Patients could access routine or same day appointments via telephone, face to face or video appointments. Appointments were available with a GP or a member of the nursing team. A Duty Nurse was available each day for urgent same day appointments. The practice was open between 8am and 6.30pm from Monday to Friday. Extended access was provided onsite between 6.30pm and 8pm from Monday to Friday. Saturday appointments were shared across the PCN practices and provided by the practice every third Saturday from 1pm to 5pm. Saturday morning appointments were provided by the PCN. Appointments with an Advanced Nurse Practitioner were available until 8.30pm from Monday to Friday.

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.