Inspectors find Shropshire medical practice 'requires improvements'
A Shropshire doctors’ surgery which claims to receive more than 500 telephone calls each day has been found it "requires improvement" by health inspectors.
Wellington Medical Practice received an overall rating of "requires improvement" after an inspector from the Care Quality Commission during October.
Four of the five assessed areas were found to "require improvement" while responsiveness was graded as ‘inadequate’.
“Our observations found at busy periods the clinical streaming team were understaffed to effectively manage the volume of inbound calls,” found the inspectors.
“This meant people were left waiting in the queue or placed on hold while call handlers obtained advice from clinicians to inform patients.”
When inspectors spoke to staff they said that there was ‘sufficient’ staffing levels and enough capacity, but said that demand for their services had increased.
“They told us the practice offered as many appointments as possible with the current resources available,” the inspectors added.
During a previous inspection in August 2018 the practice was rated as ‘good’ overall but ‘required improvement’ for providing responsive services.
The practice states on their automated voicemail that they receive 500 telephone calls each day.
