Large GP practice in Worksop ticked off over problems with booking appointments

Newgate Medical Group, which is based at the health centre on Newgate Street, was inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to look at a specific issue, covering how the practice is responsive to people’s needs.

And the inspectors found that “patient satisfaction with accessing the practice by phone and its appointment system have been below local and national averages over several years”.

The CQC found no breaches of regulations and accepted that “complaints by patients were satisfactorily handled in a timely way”.

However, in its report, it insisted that Newgate “continues to review and improve patient satisfaction” with regard to getting hold of the practice by phone and to appointment availability.

The report read: “The practice has an action plan for improvement. This includes a new appointment system and an updated telephone system. Early feedback suggests this is improving access to services.”

The CQC gave Newgate a rating of ‘Requires Improvement’ for the responsive category, which is the same as when it last received a full inspection in August, 2022.

At that full inspection, the practice was rated ‘Good’ overall and also in four other individual categories, which covered how safe, effective, caring and well-led it was.

These ratings remain in place, but the CQC wanted to make a targeted assessment of how responsive Newgate is, 18 months on.

Inspectors did not visit the health centre but conducted interviews with staff via video conferencing, studied evidence provided by the practice and reviewed the appointment system.

A spokesperson for the CQC said: “Targeted assessments enable us to focus on certain key questions to explore particular aspects of care.”

The practice has on its books thousands of patients, many of whom are considered to be living in quite deprived areas.

It is run by nine GP partners, alongside a clinical team that consists of a team of nurses and other healthcare professionals. They are all supported by a practice manager and a team of administration and reception staff.

Newgate is open between 8.30 am and 6 pm on Mondays to Fridays and 8 am to 5 pm on Saturdays. It offers a range of appointment types, including on the day, via a phone consultation and in advance.