Updated 22 February 2024
We carried out an announced assessment of one quality statement, equity of access, under the key question Responsive on the 11 March 2024 at Upton Lane Medical Centre. The responsive key question remains rated as good. The service remains rated as good overall. We carried out the assessment as part of our work to understand how practices are working to try to meet peoples’ demands for access and to better understand the experiences of people who use services and providers. We recognise the work that GP practices have been engaged in to continue to provide safe, quality care to the people they serve. We know staff are carrying this out whilst the demand for general practice remains exceptionally high, with more appointments being provided than ever. However, access to general practice remains a concern for people. Our strategy makes a commitment to deliver regulation driven by people’s needs and experiences of care. The assessment of the quality statement equity of access includes looking at what GP practices are doing innovatively to improve patient access to primary care and sharing this information to drive improvement. At this assessment we found: Patient feedback from the 2019 to 2023 national GP survey, showed they had made some improvements but had remained consistently below the national average for positive feedback. The practice’s own patient survey in 2023 demonstrated some improvements. The practice had reviewed the feedback and took action to improve. The practice had implemented an online triage system but had not updated the policies to reflect the changes made fully. The leaders monitored and understood the challenges to patient access and responded to patient needs. The practice had reviewed and responded to patient feedback and had implemented action plans in 2022 and 2023. No breaches of regulation were identified.