The Great Sutton Medical Centre - Green

Updated 10 January 2022

The Great Sutton Medical Centre is located in Ellesmere port, Cheshire at:

Old Chester Road

Great Sutton

Ellesmere Port

Cheshire

CH66 3SP

The practice was open 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday. Information on how to access GP services during the out of hours period was also available.

The provider is registered with CQC to deliver the Regulated Activities; diagnostic and screening procedures, family planning, maternity and midwifery services and treatment of disease, disorder or injury and surgical procedures.

The practice offers a range of services from one main location.

The practice is situated within the Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and delivers General Medical Services (GMS) to a patient population of about 20,199. This is part of a contract held with NHS England.

The practice is part of a wider network of GP practices called a Primary Care Network (PCN). They are part of the One Ellesmere Port PCN.

Information published by Public Health England shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the sixth lowest decile (six of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others.

According to the latest available data, the ethnic make-up of the practice area is 97.9% White, 1% Asian, 0.8% Mixed, 0.2% Black, and 0.1% Other.

The age distribution of the practice population closely mirrors the local and national averages. There are more working age patients registered at the practice compared to younger and older patients combined.

There is a team of 12 GPs supported clinically by a team of nurse practitioners, nurses, healthcare assistants and occupational therapist. The clinicians are supported at the practice by a team of reception/administration staff and practice management team who provide managerial oversight.

Due to the enhanced infection prevention and control measures put in place since the pandemic and in line with the national guidance, most GP appointments were telephone consultations. If the GP needs to see a patient face-to-face then the patient is offered a choice of face to face appointment at the practice, home visit or care home visit.

Extended access is provided locally by the extended hours service, where late evening and weekend appointments are available. Out of hours services are provided by NHS 111.

Updated 10 January 2022

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Great Sutton Medical Centre – Green on 16 March 2016. The overall rating for the practice was requires improvement. The full comprehensive report on the March 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Great Sutton Medical Centre – Green on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This inspection was an announced comprehensive inspection carried out on 21 March 2017. Overall the practice is now rated as good.

Our key findings were as follows

• There were systems in place to reduce risks to patient safety, for example, equipment checks were carried out, there were systems to protect patients from the risks associated with insufficient staffing levels and medicines management.

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. Staff were aware of procedures for safeguarding patients from the risk of abuse.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.

• Staff felt supported. They had access to training and development opportunities.

• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect. We saw that staff treated patients with kindness and respect.

• Services were planned and delivered to take into account the needs of different patient groups.

• Access to the service was monitored to ensure it met the needs of patients.

• There was a system in place to manage complaints.

• There were systems in place to monitor and improve quality and identify risk.

However, there were areas of practice where the provider should make improvements.

The provider should:

• Carry out a periodic review of significant events to enable the effectiveness of actions introduced to be assessed and any trends to be identified.

• The practice should look at consistent methods of keeping locum GPs up to date with any signicficant information such as changes to practice.

• Provide staff with further training on the new electronic system (Intradoc) to record and share information about the operation of the practice.

• Ensure that a record is maintained of the reason why fridge temperatures are outside the recommended temperature range and the action taken.

• Ensure that emergency medication in glass containers is secure to guard against breakage.

• The salaried GP should have an in-house appraisal in addition to the external appraisal process.
• Encourage the uptake of carers on the practice register.
• The practice should look at a representative from the nursing team attending their GP clinical meetings which would enable them to feedback to the regular nursing meetings that are now held.
• A survey should be undertaken to establish the current levels of patient satisfaction with access given the changes introduced. Surveys should be specific to patients from this practice.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice