CQC Report: Woodingdean Medical Centre, July 2024
CQC's view of the service
Date of assessment: Wednesday 3 April 2024 to 23 April 2024.
Woodingdean Medical Practice provides general medical services to approximately 8,900 patients from its surgery in Woodingdean, near Brighton, East Sussex.
CQC undertook an announced targeted assessment focused on the Equity in Access quality statement. The assessment included a request for patient views via CQC's 'Give Feedback on Care form' on their website, a request for information from the practice, a staff questionnaire, and an interview with practice leaders. CQC did not undertake a site visit.
During their assessment, CQC found that people could not always access care, treatment, and support when they needed to and in a way that worked for them. They also found that the practice had not consistently sought or acted on feedback from people who used the service. These concerns resulted in a breach of regulation 17 Good Governance.
CQC has asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.
It was noted that during the assessment the practice had implemented changes to the appointment system and commenced work with Healthwatch Brighton and Hove on patient engagement. However, this latest assessment and scores reflect the lived experience that people were reporting at the time.
People's experience of this service
CQC received 96 'Give Feedback on Care' (GFOC) forms. Sixty-nine of those were negative about their experience accessing the service.
- People commented that they found it difficult to get through on the phone and that when they did, there were no appointments left for that day.
- Twenty-five GFOC forms were positive about good treatment and care.
- Staff were praised for being friendly, helpful, caring, and professional.
- People said it was difficult to get an appointment but when they did the service was good.
The results of national GP patient survey (July 2023) placed the practice below the local and England average for all indicators related to access. At the time, Healthwatch Brighton and Hove had told CQC that 7 patients had contacted them recently complaining about difficulties getting appointments. CQC spoke with two members of the Patient Participation Group who also told them that people were finding it increasingly difficult to access the service.
Rating
CQC has rated the practice as Good.
Click here to read their findings on the CQC website
Healthwatch action
After hearing similar patient concerns around access, we escalated these with Primary Care Commissioners who oversee local GP practices across the city. We also met with the CQC. Following these meetings, we met with staff at Woodingdean Medical Centre and with their full support and cooperation, issued a survey to patients registered with them. We have asked patients for their views of the practice. Our survey was launched in July and closed at the beginning of August.
The survey received responses from over 1100 patients of Woodingdean Medical Practice. Once we have analysed the results we will publish these.
We will provide a report to the practice to help them identify where changes can be made and to highlight what is working well. We will also share our report with the CQC.