The Care Quality Commission
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  • GP practice

Crofton and Sharlston Medical Practice

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

Crofton Health Centre, Slack Lane, Crofton, West Yorkshire, WF4 1HJ (01924) 862621

Provided and run by:
Crofton and Sharlston Medical Practice

All Inspections

15 November 2023

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Crofton and Sharlston Medical Practice on 14 and 15 November 2023. Overall, the practice is rated as requires improvement.

Safe - requires improvement.

Effective – good.

Caring – good.

Responsive – good

Well-led – requires improvement.

Following our previous inspection on 6 October 2015, the practice was rated good overall and for all key questions.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Crofton and Sharlston Medical Practice on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

We carried out this inspection due to the length of time since our last inspection.

How we carried out the inspection

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site.

This included:

  • Conducting staff interviews using video and telephone conferencing.
  • Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system (this was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements).
  • Requesting evidence from the provider.
  • A short visit to the provider sites.
  • Staff questionnaires
  • Requesting feedback from patients via the ‘share your experience’ link on the CQC website.

Our findings

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

  • what we found when we inspected
  • information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
  • information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We found that:

  • Patients’ needs were assessed, and we saw that medicines management processes and patient care and treatment was generally delivered effectively. However, we identified that in 1 area of medicines management and 1 area of long-term condition management, that care and treatment had not always been delivered in line with current standards and evidence-based guidance.
  • The provider had a programme of quality improvement activities in place which included clinical and non-clinical audits.
  • Child immunisation performance was above national averages and targets.
  • Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
  • The provider had engaged with patients regarding access to their branch surgery. As a result, additional clinical appointments had been made available at the site.
  • The provider had processes in place to monitor and manage performance.
  • Feedback from some members of staff indicated some significant relationship issues with managers and senior leaders, a reticence to raise concerns, and problems with the confidentiality of staff information.

We saw areas of outstanding practice:

  • Practice staff had organised and delivered a Halloween themed event to promote the take up of the child nasal flu vaccine.
  • The provider hosted a monthly dementia café for patients and carers.

The provider should:

  • Improve the areas of medicines management and long-term conditions management identified during the inspection.
  • Work to continue to improve cervical screening rates.
  • Implement actions to improve communication with staff members, effectively share learning, improve staff confidence in raising concerns, and build manager/senior leader relationships with staff.
  • Inform all staff of their Freedom to Speak Up Guardian and how to contact them.
  • Replace the damaged door seals to 2 vaccine refrigerators.
  • Improve the organisation of staff personnel files.
  • Examine the provision of protected learning time for training and non-patient facing duties.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Health Care

6 October 2015

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Crofton and Sharlston Medical Practice on 6 October 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

  • Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and to report incidents and near misses. Information about safety was recorded, monitored, appropriately reviewed and addressed.
  • Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
  • Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and any further training needs had been identified and planned.
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
  • Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP, since the telephone system had changed. There was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
  • The main surgery and the branch surgery had good facilities and were well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
  • There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management and partners. They proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.

We saw some areas of outstanding practice:

  • Appointments were available for patients to book their flu vaccination online as well as in person or by telephone. Staff told us they used these appointments opportunistically to catch up with patients and check their blood pressure or perform other health checks.
  • Practice nurses with a specialist interest in respiratory medicine kept thirty minutes appointment time free each day to review patients who had been started on new medications or treatments. They would contact the patient by telephone to review the new medication or treatment and provide advice and support. Patients told us this helped them manage their condition and provided the opportunity to ask questions without coming into the practice for an appointment.
  • Every twelve weeks a diabetes consultant or diabetes specialist nurse from the hospital visited the practice to jointly see patients with the practice nurses or provide them with supervision or discuss new treatment guidelines.
  • Practice nurses trained in the treatment of minor injuries offered some walk in appointments for patients with injuries which included gluing and suturing of wounds. These patients could be treated at the practice rather than attending the walk-in-centre which was five miles away.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

8 July 2014

During a routine inspection

Crofton and Sharlston Medical Practice is located in purpose built facilities in the villages of Crofton and Sharlston near Wakefield. As part of this inspection we visited both locations.

The patients we spoke with and those who completed the Care Quality Commissions (CQC) comment cards (25) at reception were very complimentary about the care provided by staff at the practice. Patients reported that staff always treated them with dignity and respect.

The buildings are well-maintained, clean and complied with the Equality Act. Systems were in place for the management of medication.

Clinical decisions followed best practice guidelines.

The leadership team were approachable and visible. We found appropriate governance and risk management measures in place.

The practice is registered with the CQC to deliver care under the following regulated activities: treatment of disease, disorder or injury, surgical procedures, maternity and midwifery services, diagnostic and screening procedures and family planning.