primary medical services in the west canford

primary medical services in the west canford

AGENDA ITEM 4
NHS BOURNEMOUTH AND POOLE
BRIEFING FOR THE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
PRIMARY MEDICAL SERVICES IN THE WEST CANFORD HEATH AREA
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1.
1.2.
Following a meeting with the Poole Health and Social Care Overview and
Scrutiny Committee earlier in the year, it was agreed that NHS Bournemouth
and Poole would survey the former patients of the West Canford Heath
(WCH) Medical Centre in order to gauge their levels of satisfaction with their
new surgeries and to establish whether there were any issues of concern as a
result of the closure of the WCH site. It was agreed that the survey would
include questions to gather feedback on a range of issues including the
following (a copy of the full questionnaire is attached at Appendix 1):

ease of access and travelling arrangements to the practice;

telephone access;

the range of extended/enhanced services available;

choice of practice and access to a preferred practitioner;

waiting times;

opening times;

general satisfaction levels.
The purpose of this briefing is to provide the Committee with a summary of
the feedback received, together with an overview of actions taken since the
last meeting, and an outline of future actions to be taken as a result of
feedback received. A summary of the survey results is provided in more
detail later in the paper, at paragraphs 3.3 onwards, and a full report at
appendix 2.
2. BACKGROUND
2.1.
Following an investigation into serious concerns regarding the single-handed
practitioner at the West Canford Heath Medical Centre, the PCT made a
decision to terminate his NHS contract. Interim arrangements were made for
the medical care of the patients of the Practice whilst the PCT reviewed the
provision of services within the area. The West Canford Heath site belongs to
the practitioner and it was therefore necessary for the PCT to review a range
of options, including the patient demographics and access to neighbouring
primary care medical services. As a result of that review, the decision was
made to close the site as access to primary medical services was good and
the spread of patients across the local area was relatively broad.
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2.2.
2.3.
2.4.
At the point at which the decision was made to close the site, there were
approximately 1,100 patients still registered with the practice. Approximately
half of the patients lived in the Canford Heath, Oakdale and Branksome areas
and could choose to register with one of the following practices:

Birchwood Practice;

Hadleigh House Practice;

Harvey Practice;

Evergreen Oak Practice;

Adam Practice;

Rosemary Medical Practice;

Herbert Avenue Practice;

Longfleet House Practice.
All of these practices offer a similar range of services, including:

cervical cytology;

child health surveillance;

maternity medical services;

contraceptive services;

minor surgery;

childhood immunisations and pre-school boosters;

vaccinations and immunisations.

extended opening hours (evenings and/or weekends);

phlebotomy;

minor surgery;

smoking cessation;

complex leg ulcer treatment;

services for patients with a learning disability;

alcohol screening and brief intervention;

the screening of patients for osteoporosis.
Patients were informed of the closure of the West Canford Heath site and
were given advice on how to register with a new practice. The PCT also
liaised with the Community Health Services and the Harvey Practice (who
were responsible for the interim care of the patients) in order to ensure that
any vulnerable patients were identified and given additional support.
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2.5. The practice closed at the end of March 2010, with all patients having
received a series of communications regarding the closure and being offered
support to re-register elsewhere.
3. CURRENT POSITION
3.1.
The Process Review
At the last meeting of the Scrutiny Committee, concerns were raised by
members regarding the robustness of the PCT’s process to consult on the
provision of medical services in the Canford Heath and surrounding areas. As
a result of these concerns, the PCT decided to undertaken a ‘root cause
analysis’ of the processes it had followed with regard to the original
engagement and decision-making procedure. Subsequently, the following
recommendations were made with regard to any future similar consultations:

the PCT should develop a policy for such consultations;

any relevant decision-making process should be discussed and formally
agreed with the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee;

the PCT’s strategic priorities should be clearly communicated to all
stakeholders;

questionnaires should be designed to secure clear responses on the
issues under consideration and in such a way that all respondents are
clear on what is being asked of them;

the PCT should employ a range of mechanisms to secure feedback.
3.1.1 The PCT will now take forward these recommendations in order to ensure that
any similar consultation is robust and supported by the Committee.
3.2.
The patient survey
The survey (attached at Appendix 1) was sent to approximately 1,100 patients
with a reply-paid envelope and secured 205 responses (18.5% response rate).
The following questions highlight some of the key issues raised by Committee
members.
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3.3.1 How easy is it to travel to your new GP practice?
70%
60%
50%
Very easy
40%
65%
Fairly easy
30%
Not very easy
20%
31%
10%
4%
0%
3.3.2 How long does it take you to travel from home to your new GP practice?
80%
70%
60%
Under 10 mins
50%
75%
40%
10 - 20 mins
Over 30 mins
30%
20%
24%
10%
1%
0%
3.3.3 How easy is it to get through to your new GP practice on the telephone?
50%
40%
Very easy
Fairly easy
30%
41%
Not very easy
38%
20%
Very difficult
Don't know
10%
9%
10%
2%
0%
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3.3.4 When you first contacted your new GP practice, were you able to register
with your first choice of practice?
100%
80%
94%
60%
Yes
No
40%
20%
6%
0%
3.3.5 Overall, how satisfied are you with your new GP practice?
50%
40%
30%
Very satisfied
Quite satisfied
47%
Not very satisfied
37%
20%
Dissatisfied
Neither
10%
4%
11%
1%
0%
3.3.6 Feedback by postcode
70%
60%
BH17
50%
BH18
40%
30%
BH15
63%
BH15
Other
20%
10%
Unspecified
6%
5%
5%
12%
0%
5
9%
4.
KEY ISSUES RAISED
4.1
Patient feedback
As part of the survey process, some issues were raised by patients about their
new practice. The PCT will be taking these issues and ensuring that there is
additional awareness and support for practices and patients. Specifically we
will be considering:





New patient checks
People wanting to see their ‘own’ GP
Attitudes of reception staff
Access to practices by telephone
Opening hours
4.1.1 We will also continue to monitor and review individual practice performance
against the national GP survey, which secures patient feedback on a range of
issues including access to, and satisfaction with, general medical services.
Each practice will receive a contract review visit from the PCT in 2010/11 and
any areas of concern will be addressed with the practice at that meeting.
4.2
Ward councillor feedback
In addition to the survey to patients, ward councillors were contacted to seek
any feedback from them with regard to ongoing issues, and any issues which
they have been made aware of from their constituents.
4.2.1 One response was made from a ward councillor about the following:


The future use of the site
The lack of choice of surgery on Canford Heath
5. CONCLUSION
5.1
The PCT recognises that this has been a difficult time for patients and that
changing GPs for whatever reason can be stressful for many.
5.1.1 The PCT also recognises that the process for the closure of the practice may
not have been as robust as it should have and that in this exercise it did not
meet the expectations of members of the Scrutiny Committee and ward
members.
5.1.2 The PCT has now put in place measures to ensure that any future service
changes have clear objectives, processes and feedback mechanisms and will
ensure that these are clearly communicated to committee members.
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5.1.3 The PCT has considered all the feedback and considers that overall there is
general satisfaction with new providers of primary care, and that no significant
issues have been raised in the research undertaken that the PCT needs to
address.
5.1.4 The committee are asked to note the report, the PCT actions and the
responses to the research. Should the Committee wish to review access in
the Canford Heath area in more detail with practices, the PCT would happy to
work with a Committee representative and local practices to facilitate a
meeting.
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