Helsby Health Centre - Care Quality Commission

Background to this inspection

Updated 27 March 2017

Helsby Health Centre is responsible for providing primary care services to approximately 9050 patients. The practice is situated in Lower Robin Hood Lane, Helsby, Cheshire. There is a branch practice which is situated in School Lane in the village of Elton, Cheshire approximately three miles from the main health centre. The practice is based in an area with lower levels of economic deprivation when compared to other practices nationally. The number of patients with a long standing health condition is about average when compared to local and national averages.

The staff team includes seven partner GPs, one salaried GP, four practice nurses, two health care assistants, practice manager and administration and reception staff. The practice hosts medical students from the University of Liverpool.

Helsby Health Centre is open 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday. The branch practice is open from 8.30am to 12.30pm Monday to Friday. An extended hour’s service for routine appointments and an out of hour’s service are commissioned by West Cheshire CCG and provided by Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. The extended hour’s service operates from Helsby Health Centre on Monday and Tuesday evenings.

The practice has a General Medical Services (GMS) contract. The practice offers a range of enhanced services such, minor surgery, near patient testing anti-coagulation and spirometry.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 27 March 2017

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of Helsby Health Centre on 31 August 2016. The overall rating for the practice was requires improvement. The full comprehensive report on the August 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Helsby Health Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This inspection was an announced focused inspection carried out on 28 February 2017 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches in regulations that we identified in our previous inspection on 31 August 2016. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and also additional improvements made since our last inspection.

Overall the practice is now rated as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

The premises were safely maintained.
The governance systems had been improved to ensure that the required recruitment information was obtained prior to the employment of staff.
The governance systems had been improved to ensure that staff had received the training required for their roles.

In addition, the practice had made the following improvements:

A record was made of action taken following the receipt of patient safety alerts.
The storage of emergency medication had been reviewed.
A system had been put in place to record the receipt and allocation of printable prescriptions.
An infection control audit had taken place and the actions arising from this were being monitored.
The system for recording when children do not attend for appointments had been reviewed.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)

Chief Inspector of General Practice