Enter and View Report: Willington Medical Group

Report - 4 December 2019

Our report looks at the findings from when our authorised representatives visited Willington Medical Group.

At this surgery one of our authorised representatives carried out 27 individual conversations with patients and staff, using a set of appreciative questions to give patients the opportunity to describe good practice they had experienced or seen- no surveys were completed prior, by patients who wanted to feedback on the service but did not have a GP appointment, on the day of our visit.

We observed activity and spoke to patients during our three hour visit, to collect their own independent impressions of the practice and its services, which were recorded during and after the visit. A private space was available if patients felt the need to talk in confidence to us.

Recommendations

One of the most conveyed messages from the patients on the day, was how happy they were with the service that they receive at Willington Medical Centre. The patients very much valued and appreciated the “quick response time”, “prompt diagnosis” and very “good follow up” care
Appointments are always available for children and are offered in a flexible way (when possible). Even when on the telephone, people appreciated that they knew what number they were in the queue
Patients told us that they found advance notification by text useful and that complaints were dealt with quickly and professionally. Patients spoke of consistency in service even if a different doctor was seen
The loss of the physio service was raised by several patients as being unfortunate and stated how good it would be to have it reinstated
There were clear and safe systems in place to manage visitors, as we were asked to sign in, given visitor ID to wear and shown around the site, prior to starting the visit. The quality of services and systems in place are well managed and are very valued by the users-this should be maintained
Linked to the good service that patients felt they got-we evidenced positive social interaction and clear empathy between patients and staff. Patients understood and valued good communication here and the times where the service went over and beyond- yet retained a professional, confident and efficient ethos. This way of working should not be underestimated and should be upheld in order to ensure effective patient/service relationships
Patients told us how the staff were “first rate” and that they had “good Doctors”. Patients very much appreciated where they could choose to see a particular doctor or were able to see the same doctor for a particular issue. Wherever possible, patient requests to access a particular doctor, should be obliged. Quality and turnover of doctors should be monitored in order to maintain the high standard, perceived by patients
Patients told us how important the location of the surgery was, especially being able to walk to it and having everything under one roof
We observed an accessible, comfortable clean surgery, well used self-sign-in, good children’s dedicated area with well thought out and clearly managed information and notices being displayed. Appropriate seating, comfortable wider and higher level seating accommodating people with mobility issues
No glass/Perspex screen at the reception which allowed for informal and confidential interaction between patients and reception staff. The comfort and confidentiality of patients visiting the surgery should be monitored and patients consulted on change/updates, as the current set up seems to meet the need very well