Dr Rachel Ng & partners

Updated 4 February 2016

West Road Surgery is situated in Annfield Plain. There is also a branch surgery in Stanley known as Louisa Surgery. They have a Personal Medical Services (PMS) contract and also offer enhanced services for example; extended hours. The practice covers Annfield Plain and Stanley which are ex-mining communities. There are 4968 patients on the practice list and the majority of patients are of white British background.

The practice is a partnership with three partners. There are two GPs. There is one Practice Nurse, two Nurse Practitioners and one Health Care assistant. There is a Practice Manager, Deputy Practice Manager and reception and administration staff.

The practice at West Road is open between 8.30am and 5.00pm Mondays to Fridays and has extended hours from 7.30am to 8.00am on Mondays. The branch surgery at Stanley is open between 8.30am and 5.00pm Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays and between 8.30am and 12.30pm on Thursdays and has extended hours on Thursdays from 7.30am to 8.00am. The practice also offers extended hours on Saturday mornings from 8am to 1.00pm.

Patients requiring a GP outside of normal working hours are advised to contact the GP out of hour’s service provided by North Durham CCG.

Updated 4 February 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Drs Lambert and Ng on 22 December 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed, with the exception of those relating to recruitment checks.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment. There were urgent appointments available the same day for GPs and Nurses. Routine appointments were available to book the following day.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by the management team. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, including the Patient Participation Group (PPG).
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• The practice worked closely with other organisations and with the local community in planning how services were provided to ensure that they met people’s needs. For example, the practice was involved in a pilot scheme with Public Health England to refer patients with diabetes risk factors into the ‘Just Beat it Programme’. The aim of this was to prevent the development of diabetes.

The area where the provider should make improvement is:

• Ensure recruitment arrangements include all necessary employment checks for all staff. Ensure that staff are inducted to the practice as per the policy.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 4 February 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with long-term conditions.

• Nursing staff had lead roles in chronic disease management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority.

• Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed.

• All these patients had a named GP and a structured annual review to check that their health and medication needs were being met. For patients with more than one long term condition the practice offered to review everything in one appointment. For those people with the most complex needs, the named GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

• As part of a pilot scheme with Public Health England patients at risk of developing diabetes were identified and referred to appropriate services.

Updated 4 February 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of families, children and young people.

• There were systems in place to identify and follow up children living in disadvantaged circumstances and who were at risk, for example, children and young people who had a high number of A&E attendances. Immunisation rates were relatively high for all standard childhood immunisations.

• Patients told us that children and young people were treated in an age-appropriate way and were recognised as individuals.

• We saw good examples of joint working with midwives, health visitors and school nurses.

• Appointments for children were always available as needed.

Updated 4 February 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people.

• Nationally reported data showed that outcomes for patients were good for conditions commonly found in older people.

• The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older patients in its population and had a range of enhanced services, for example, in dementia and end of life care.

• As part of the ‘Improving Outcomes Scheme’ in conjunction with the CCG, the practice held a register of patients who were at risk of unplanned emergency admission to hospital. The Practice Nurse contacted these patients to offer support and advice. In addition the practice held a register of frail elderly patients who they were in the process of visiting and assessing.

• They were responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and rapid access appointments for those with enhanced needs.

Updated 4 February 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of working-age people (including those recently retired and students).

• The needs of this group had been identified and the practice had adjusted the services they offered to ensure these were accessible, flexible and offered continuity of care.

• The practice was proactive in offering online services as well as a full range of health promotion and screening that reflected the needs for this age group.

• The Practice Nurse had completed extra training in order to offer the contraceptive implant service to patients who needed it and this was available to book at any time.

Updated 4 February 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).

• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of patients experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia.

• The practice carried out advance care planning for patients with dementia. The practice had told patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations. They had a system in place to follow up patients who had attended accident and emergency (A&E) where they may have been experiencing poor mental health.

• As part of the ‘Improving Outcomes Scheme’ in conjunction with the CCG the practice was proactively identifying patients at risk of suicide or self-harm. These patients were seen weekly by the GP.

• Staff had received training on how to care for people with mental health needs and dementia.

Updated 4 February 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.

• The practice had carried out annual health checks for people with a learning disability, and also offered this in the patient’s own home.

• The practice held a register of patients living in vulnerable circumstances.

• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable patients.

• Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse in vulnerable adults and children. Staff were aware of their responsibilities regarding information sharing, documentation of safeguarding concerns and how to contact relevant agencies in normal working hours and out of hours.