Enter and view: Caxton Surgery

Healthwatch Shropshire gather information on people’s experiences of health and social care services and there are times when it is appropriate for Healthwatch Shropshire to see and hear for themselves how services are being delivered: these visits are called ‘Enter and View’, they are not inspections.

Healthwatch Shropshire visited Caxton Surgery on the 18/06/2018.

The summary of findings highlighted areas in relation to patient feedback, staff feedback and observation. These findings informed that most patients were satisfied with the quality of service provided to meet their health and communication needs. One patient expressed concern about being asked why they needed an urgent appointment by the receptionist. The practice was seeking to implement the AIS in a positive way. None of the patients they spoke to were new patients and were not aware of being directly asked about their communication needs. Patients and staff raised the problem of the lack of sufficient parking. Caxton Practice was not easy to find by car and not clearly signed. Patients with communication needs cannot be identified on the EMIS system except through their individual record. The PPG were included in training, including Deaf and Dementia Awareness and were involved in decisions regarding the refurbishment of the practice. There is a potential lack of privacy for those talking to the receptionist. Signage in the corridor of consulting rooms is limited. Most noticeboards in the waiting area were uncluttered except for the ‘community’ noticeboard. There is no hearing loop in the practice although installing one is being considered as part of the refurbishment. Many NHS leaflets do not meet the Accessible Information Standard.

The recommendations within the report state the practice should review the level of privacy available to patients at reception. The practice should review its approach to meeting the communication needs of all its patients and makes any changes necessary to implement all the requirements and meet the conformance criteria laid out in the NHS Accessible Information Specification. The practice to explore ways to improve parking for patients. The practice reviews signage to the practice to ensure it is adequate for people visiting the practice for the first time. The practice considers ways it could be made more dementia friendly (e.g. internal signage). The content of the community noticeboard is reviewed and updated on a regular basis to ensure the information is relevant and clear.