King Cross Practice

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. The responsive key question remains rated as good. The practice used peoples feedback and maintained oversight of demand for appointments using data from the practice’s clinical system, to ensure sufficient appointment availability and to actively seek to improve access for people. People were given support to overcome barriers to ensure equal access. The practice provided access to appointments through British Sign Language (BSL) email service or text-to-phone service and enabled an interpreter to attend. The patient record system was used to alert staff to any communication needs or vulnerabilities and these patients were given a double appointment to help enable effective communication. The provider prioritises, allocates resources and opportunities as needed 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.

We found the leaders had responded to patient feedback and were making improvements. There was evidence of active and positive interaction with the patient participation group (PPG). The group met with staff from the practice and were consulted for improvements to the practice. The PPG reviewed the accessibility of the practice’s website and the did not attend (DNA) process. Discussion with the PPG had highlighted that the PPG is a small, non-representative group and the practice plan to actively advertise for membership. The practice analysed themes and trends from NHS Family and Friends Survey. We saw examples of positive feedback about friendly, helpful, and professional staff. Data from the on-line consultation system (PATCHS) and the practice’s Friends and Family test for the 2 months of January and February 2024 showed over 80% positive feedback about the quality of the service provided. Additionally, the practice reviewed comments and suggestions made via the practice website, email and on NHS choices. Staff told us that there had been difficulties at first when setting PATCHS up. This led to poor feedback at times, due to patient’s dissatisfaction with the way PATCHS worked. The practice met with the integrated care board (ICB), reviewed the use of PATCHS which resulted to an increase in administrative requests which can be made. In the 2023 National GP Patient Survey, the practice’s data for access was mixed. Patient satisfaction with how easy it was to get through to the practice by phone, and with the appointment offered were slightly lower than the England averages. There had been 4 items of feedback left on the NHS choices website in the last 12 months, 2 items of feedback were positive and 2 negative, patients gave good feedback on staff being very kind and supportive. From the negative feedback patients said they could not get an appointment due to the phone system.

Patients could book appointments by telephone, from the on-line consultation system (PATCHS), from the practice’s clinical system on-line booking process, URL booking or by attending reception. The Practice offered online consultations, telephone appointments, face to face appointments, video consultations, and home visits. There is a dedicated phone line for home visits. Patients could book routine appointments up to 3 weeks in advance. Staff told us the practice provided around 50% of all appointments as book on the day and favourable feedback indicated that scheduling a high number of urgent appointments on the same day led to higher patient satisfaction. Staff had completed care navigation training and had access to the practice’s clinical system care navigation templates. Staff were fully supported by the Clinical team who provided guidance for any calls which may have been deemed more complicated. Priority to urgent appointments was given to patients who were vulnerable, over 75 years old, under 2 years old or if the patient presented with urgent symptoms. Extended hours appointments were available via the Central Halifax Primary Care Network Monday to Friday 6.30pm-8.00pm and Saturday 9.00am-2.00pm. No appointments were offered on a Sunday through extended hours. Out of these hours patients could contact the NHS111 service.

The practice told us they obtained feedback from various sources such as the GP National Patient Survey, friends and family, the on-line consultation service (PATCHS) and complaints. Leaders demonstrated they were aware of the challenges to patient access regarding how easy it was to get through to the practice by phone and were making an effort to improve. The practice told us they had some difficulties setting up PATCHS and were working closely with the ICB to review the Issues. The practice created an action plan in response to the annual National GP Patient Survey results. All patients who are identified as having additional communication needs or vulnerabilities, are provided with double appointments, to provide them with enough time with clinicians for their concerns. The Practice is signed up to the Safe Surgery network. A Safe Surgery commits to taking steps to tackle the barriers faced by many migrants in accessing healthcare, ensuring that lack of ID or proof of address, immigration status or language are not barriers to patient registration. Staff explained they have also worked with local support groups, such as programs designed to help those who suffered from drug and alcohol misuse and a charity who provided the winter shelter in Halifax to individuals who are homeless or in crisis. The Practice has a large cohort of asylum seekers, and the staff explained the practice had worked to strengthen these connections, including input at the Well-being Hub meetings which were held by the Primary care network (PCN). Concerns regarding access were raised and the practice told us they had implemented changes as a result. The practice actively supports outreach work for hard-to-reach groups, such as flu clinics and cancer screening promotion at local Mosques, Churches, and Women’s Centres with Urdu and Punjabi speaking presenters to aim to support uptake of services.

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.