Background to this inspection
Updated
4 February 2019
Drs Meulendijk Soar & Brownlow Medical Practice, also known as Station Lane Medical Centre is located at Station Lane, Featherstone, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, WF7 6JL. The practice provides services for around 7,200 patients under the terms of the Personal Medical Services contract. The practice building is accessible for those with a disability. In addition the practice has on-site parking available for patients, with designated spaces for patients with limited mobility, or those patients who use a wheelchair.
The practice population catchment area is classed as within the group of the third more deprived areas in England. The age profile and life expectancy of the practice population is comparable to other GP practices in the NHS Wakefield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
Drs Meulendijk Soar & Brownlow is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide the following regulated activities; surgical procedures, diagnostic and screening procedures, family planning, maternity and midwifery services and the treatment of disease, disorder or injury.
The practice offers a range of enhanced local services including those in relation to:
- childhood vaccination and immunisation
- Influenza and Pneumococcal immunisation
- Rotavirus and Shingles immunisation
- Dementia support
- Minor surgery
- Learning disability support
As well as these enhanced services the practice also offers additional services such as those supporting long term conditions management including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes.
Attached to the practice or closely working with the practice is a team of community health professionals that includes health visitors, midwives and members of the district nursing team.
The practice is accredited as a training practice.
The clinical team consists of three GP partners (one male, two female), three salaried GPs (one male, two female), one minor illness nurse (female), two practice nurses (female) and two health care assistants (female). They are supported by a practice manager, a deputy practice manager and a team of reception and administrative staff including an administrative apprentice.
The practice appointments include:
- Pre-bookable appointments
- Urgent and on the day appointments
- Telephone consultations
- Home visits
Appointments can be made in person, via telephone or online.
Practice opening times are:
Monday - 8.00am to 6:30pm
Tuesday - 7:30am to 6:30pm
Wednesday - 7:30am to 6:30pm
Thursday - 7:30am to 6:30pm (7:30am to 8:30pm every fourth week)
Friday - 8.00am to 6:30pm
Out of hours care and weekend appointments are provided by GP Care Wakefield and are accessible at two sites in the locality.
The previously awarded ratings are displayed as required in the practice and on the practice’s website.
Updated
4 February 2019
We carried out an announced focused inspection at Drs Meulendijk Soar & Brownlow on 15 January 2019 as part of our inspection programme.
At the last inspection in May 2018 we rated the practice as good overall, with a rating of requires improvement for providing safe services. The full comprehensive report regarding the May 2018 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Drs Meulendijk Soar & Brownlow on our website at .
The practice was rated as requires improvement for providing safe services because:
- A systematic and documented health and safety risk assessment which covered the operation of the practice had not been carried out.
- The significant event process showed some inconsistencies.
- There was limited assurance with regard to the effectiveness of management of the infection control audit process.
In addition to the areas for improvement identified under the key question of providing safe services, at the inspection in May 2018 we also said the practice should consider improving the following area:
- Review and improve the process of recording complaints, to include written and verbal complaints, in order to enable and improve the identification of any trends and learning from complaints within the practice.
At this inspection, we found that the provider had satisfactorily addressed these areas.
Our judgement of the quality of care at this service is based on a combination of what we found when we inspected, information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and information from the provider and other organisations.
Overall the practice is rated as good overall, with the practice rated as good for providing safe services.
Our key findings were as follows:
- The practice had adopted a suite of health and safety risk assessments which had been embedded within the practice. In addition the practice had developed ‘ad hoc’ risk assessments which covered specific operations such as the installation of new public toilets.
- The practice had reviewed and updated their procedures with regard to the identification of significant events and had put in place measures to ensure that these were actioned and that learning from these incidents and events were shared with others.
- Issues identified in relation to the last infection prevention and control audit had been actioned. This included upgrades to the public toilets.
- The practice had begun to formally record both written and verbal complaints and from these were able to seek to identify any trends or themes.
There was one area where the provider should make improvement:
- Review and improve assurance in respect to confirming the immunity status of appropriate staff in relation to measles, mumps and rubella, and chickenpox.
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice
Please refer to the detailed report and the evidence tables for further information.