Wadebridge and Camel Estuary 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 rated the service as good or providing a responsive service. The practice had identified issues with patient access to the service which had impacted on the way in which patients could book appointments with the most appropriate clinician. Action had been taken by introducing an electronic request form which most patients were positive about. For patients who could not complete this form assistance was provided by staff. However, patient views varied regarding the assistance given. The practice has taken action to address this. All patients care and treatment needs were triaged and appointments prioritised to reflect clinical need. Longer waits had been experienced for routine appointments which the practice had identified and action being taken to address this.

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.

Leaders and staff demonstrated they were aware of the challenges to patient access and had acted to improve it. The practice had liaised with the Patient Participation Group (PPG) regarding concerns around patient access. Staff reported this had led to changes in how patients booked appointments and the new triage system. Staff were aware of their roles and responsibilities which supported patient access. For example, administration staff were able to demonstrate they were up to date with the process to register new patients so that there were no barriers to the patient or clinician should they require medical care or treatment. Requests for repeat prescriptions were up to date and prescribers responded promptly to queries which reduced delays for patients.

The practice had organised services to meet patients’ needs and responded to patient feedback and other evidence to actively improve access for people who used the service. All requests for appointments were triaged by a duty GP each day to ensure patients were prioritised according to clinical need and appointments arranged in appropriate timescales. An electronic system had been implemented whereby people who used the service were required to complete a form on line so the duty GP could triage need effectively. For patients who were unable to access the online system an alert showed on their electronic record which advised staff of the support required to complete the access form. Appointments were available with GPs, nurse practitioners, practice nurses, healthcare assistants, physiotherapist, pharmacist and a paramedic. The practice had previously utilised electronic services from an external organisation for remote pharmacy support. To improve the quality of service the practice had recruited a practice based pharmacist. On the day of inspection we saw patients offered face to face, telephone appointments and home visits for the same day when necessary. The process for routine appointments had been reviewed and developed by the practice as it had been recognised longer waits had been experienced by patients. Additional clinics had been planned to accommodate requests for cervical screening. An additional practice nurse had been recruited to further reduce the waiting period for nurse appointments. Patients could access appointments each week day at the Wadebridge practice. Appointments were available at the branch on Tuesdays and Thursdays for blood tests. Once a week appointments were available until 8.15pm. In the 2023 National GP Patient Survey satisfaction with getting through to the practice by phone was below average (30% responded positively, compared to an England average of 50%). Satisfaction with other aspects of access was in line with average.

Patients were supported by the practice to attend their appointment with family or carers if that was their choice. Arrangements were made to promote their privacy, dignity and confidentiality when attending with another person. We were provided with specific examples of how the practice had arranged this to meet the requests of two patients. Patients of working or school age were able to attend the practice in the evening on one day of the week. As part of the Primary Care Network (a group of local practices working together) work was progressing to offer later appointments each weekday by provision of a rota covered by one of the PCN practices. The practice provided support to patients who experienced communication barriers. A hearing loop was available for patients living with hearing loss, information in large print or braille was made available for those patients living with sight loss. Staff had access to translation services to support patients whose first language was not English. Written information relating to their care and treatment could be obtained from the internet in their preferred language.

The practice had recognised that patients with complex needs required longer appointment times. For example, we heard how one patient was allocated a double appointment to ensure their care and treatment could be delivered in an appropriate manner.

The practice were aware of potential health inequalities and had considered vulnerable patients and supported them to access services. People with no permanent address were able to register with the practice and receive care and treatment and onward referrals to secondary care by the support provided by the practice. Patients who were housebound or lived in residential care settings were supported by the provision of home visits. For patients living in residential care settings weekly visits were arranged to the care setting by a paramedic with support from a GP when necessary.

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.