Enter and view: Extended Access Hubs

Healthwatch Waltham Forest conducted Enter and View visits to the local Extended Access Hubs. The visit was carried out after Healthwatch Waltham Forest was commissioned to deliver an Urgent Care Patient Engagement project to review service users' experiences. Feedback was gathered through observation and surveys, from staff, service users and families.

Findings included:

• The service was very responsive. Patients were able to access good quality care and treatment easily and quickly and were given the option to make an appointment to see an out of hours GP or nurse directly themselves, or for one to be made for them. The majority of patient feedback showed the majority to be very happy with the service.
• Patients received clear communication and felt involved with decisions made about their treatment. We observed staff treating patients with respect, compassion, and dignity. Staff went out of their way to offer patients additional support and information.
• The service had in place a strong and effective leadership team. There were clear structured systems in place, including Risk Management, complaints, incident reporting and safeguarding procedures. Staff felt supported by their management team and the were systems to support staff well-being, learning and improvement.
• The provider had a strong and clear vision for a successful and growing service, ensuring patients needs were met. They worked collaboratively as a team and had a focused approach to quality and service development. Regular clinical audits were undertaken to assess where they could improve the quality they provided to patients.

Based on these findings, Healthwatch Waltham Forest made four recommendations:

1. To put in place a Welcome information leaflet for patients that will inform of available services and how to make a complaint should they need to.
2. To ensure that each practice’s listed service information for patients, is clear, accurate and reviewed regularly so that patients receive the correct information that will enable them to use the service in the best way.
3. To review the system on information given to patients for appointment times, to ensure that patients are given accurate information around appointment times.
4. To put in place systems to support a growing workforce in order to continue providing a service of high quality.

The report contains a response from the service provider.