Langley Corner Surgery

Updated 13 March 2018

Langley Corner Surgery is located in a residential area of Crawley and provides primary medical services to approximately 9,900 patients. The practice also provides care and treatment for the residents who are registered at the practice and who live in two nearby care homes, which serve individuals with a diagnosis of dementia or who have nursing care needs.

Services are provided from two locations, the main practice building at:

• Langley Corner Surgery, Ifield Green, Crawley, West Sussex, RH11 0NF.

And the branch surgery at:

• Ifield West Community Centre, Dobbins Place, Ifield, Crawley, RH11 0SZ

There are five GP partners and three salaried GP (three male, five female). The practice is registered as a GP training practice, supporting medical students and providing training opportunities for doctors seeking to become fully qualified GPs.

There are six female members of the nursing team; three practice nurses and three health care assistants. GPs and nurses are supported by the practice manager and a team of reception/administration staff.

Data available to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) shows the practice serves a higher than average number of patients who are aged 0 to 18 when compared to the national average. The number of patients aged 65 and over is also slightly above the national average. The number of registered patients suffering income deprivation is below the national average.

The main practice is open from Monday to Friday between 8:30am and 6:30pm.

Extended hours appointments are offered every Monday from 6:30pm to 8pm, and Tuesday to Friday from 7:30am to 8:30am. The Ifield West surgery is open every Monday from 2:30pm to 5:30pm, and Wednesday and Friday from 9:30am to 12:30pm. An emergency telephone service is provided between 1pm and 2pm.

Appointments can be booked over the telephone, online or in person at the surgery. Patients are provided information on how to access an out of hours service by calling the surgery or viewing the practice website.

The practice runs a number of services for its patients including; family planning, chronic disease management, minor surgery, health checks, smoking cessation, and holiday vaccines and advice.

Updated 13 March 2018

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Langley Corner Surgery on 16 February 2016 and a focused follow up inspection on 22 June 2017. The practice was rated good overall. However, we found that the practice continued to require improvement for the provision of safe services because breaches of regulation were identified. The full comprehensive reports on the inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Langley Corner Surgery on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Specifically, we said they must:

• Ensure they record adequate details of investigations carried out on significant events to support the requirements of their duty of candour.
• Ensure the learning points from investigations into significant events were shared with all appropriate staff.

In addition we said the provider should:

• Ensure all staff receive training in Information Governance appropriate to their role.

• Ensure action plans produced as part of the infection control process, including waste management, are monitored to help identify when agreed actions have been completed.

• Ensure they have adequate systems for checking the emergency medicines in their branch practice.

After the previous focused inspection on 22 June 2017, the practice wrote to us to say what they would do to meet legal requirements. We undertook this focused inspection on 13 February 2018 to check that they had followed their plan and to confirm that they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to those requirements.

Overall the practice continues to be rated as good and is now good in the safe domain.

Our key findings for this inspection were as follows:

• The practice had reviewed and updated their significant events policy and the incident recording form, which had been improved to include all details of the event through to learning points and a specific question regarding duty of candour. We saw examples where the practice had taken appropriate action under the duty of candour and had thoroughly recorded such events.

• Learning points from investigations were shared with all staff within a weekly practice meeting where all staff where expected to attend. Minutes were circulated to all staff following the meeting.

• We saw evidence that the practice had started a process to conduct six monthly reviews of all learning points and changes of policy, which was shared with all staff.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 28 April 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with long-term conditions.

• Data from the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) showed patient outcomes were at or above average for the locality and compared to the national average for areas including diabetes and hypertension.

• Nursing staff had lead roles in chronic disease management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority.

• Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed.

• All these patients had a named GP and a structured annual review to check their health and medicines needs were being met. For those patients with the most complex needs, the named GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

• The practice offered a range of enhanced services to people with long term conditions. This included asthma and diabetes clinics.

Updated 28 April 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of families, children and young people.

• There were systems in place to identify and follow up children living in disadvantaged circumstances and who were at risk, for example, children and young people who had a high number of A&E attendances.

• The practice had made the decision to train all staff to child safeguarding level three (GPs are required to receive level three, clinical staff level two and non-clinical level one)

• Immunisation rates were relatively high for all standard childhood immunisations. The practice had a policy to notify the health visitor for follow up if a child repeatedly missed their immunisation appointment.

• Patients told us that children and young people were treated in an age-appropriate way and were recognised as individuals, and we saw evidence to confirm this.

• Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies.

• We saw positive examples of joint working with midwives, health visitors and school nurses.

Updated 28 April 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people.

• The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older people in its population.

• The practice was responsive to the needs of older patients, and offered home visits and urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs.

Updated 28 April 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of working-age people (including those recently retired and students).

• The needs of the working age population, those recently retired and students had been identified and the practice had adjusted the services it offered to ensure these were accessible, flexible and offered continuity of care.

• The practice was proactive in offering online services including booking appointments and an electronic prescribing service.

• The practice offered a full range of health promotion and screening that reflects the needs for this age group.

Updated 28 April 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).

• Data showed that 88% of patients diagnosed with dementia had had their care reviewed in a face to face meeting in the last 12 months, which is better than the national average of 84%.

• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of patients experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia.

• The practice carried out advance care planning for patients with dementia.

• The practice had told patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.

• The practice had a system in place to follow up patients who had attended accident and emergency where they may have been experiencing poor mental health.

• Staff had a good understanding of how to support patients with mental health needs and dementia.

Updated 28 April 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.

• The practice held a register of patients living in vulnerable circumstances including homeless patients, travellers and those with a learning disability.

• The practice offered longer appointments for patients with a learning disability.

• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable patients.

• The practice informed vulnerable patients about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.

• Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse in vulnerable adults and children. Staff were aware of their responsibilities regarding information sharing, documentation of safeguarding concerns and how to contact relevant agencies in normal working hours and out of hours.