SIMP Also known as Southern Independent Medical Practice Limited

Updated 5 July 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the independent consulting doctors practice was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Southern Independent Medical Practice (SIMP) is a private GP practice based in Salisbury, a city in the county of Wiltshire. The practice has occupied its current facility since 1994 and is arranged over two floors. There are GP consulting and nurse treatment rooms on both floors, and a patient waiting room on the ground floor. The practice has member patients from a wide geographical area; and they pay a monthly or annual subscription for medical care. The practice age distribution is broadly in line with the national average, with most patients aged 70 or older.

The clinical team is comprised of five GPs (three male, two female) and a practice nurse. A number of staff perform dual roles. For example, the practice nurse, a medical secretary, an administrator, a secretary and a medical secretary also provide reception support. The practice team is completed by a dedicated receptionist and a dedicated administrator. The majority of services are provided by a lead GP, with the other GPs working on a part-time basis.

SIMP is open from 8.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and the practice will take calls during these times. Routine GP appointments are generally available from 8.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and can be booked up to one year in advance.

Updated 5 July 2019

We assessed Well-led care as Outstanding because the leadership, governance and culture were used to drive and improve the delivery of high-quality person-centred care. The service invests in innovative and best practice processes and systems. For example, the practice offered individual extended opportunities to test for bowel cancer; and will shortly be introducing a new service for cardiovascular screening for young athletes prior to sports competitions. The service sought ways to increasingly respond to the needs of its population.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at SIMP on 1 May 2019, as part of our inspection programme.

SIMP (Southern Independent Medical Practice) is a private GP practice based in Salisbury, Wiltshire. Patients can register to see one of five GPs and one practice nurse.

This practice is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. There are some general exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of service and these are set out in of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. At SIMP, services are provided to patients under arrangements made by a government department with whom the practice user holds a policy (other than a standard health insurance policy. These types of arrangements are exempt by law from CQC regulation). Therefore, at SIMP, we were only able to inspect the services which are not arranged for patients by a government department.The Nominated Individual is the Registered Manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the practice. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the practice is run.

Eighty-five patients provided written feedback about the practice, via CQC Comments Cards. We also spoke to two patients during our inspection. All patients commented on the high standard of care provided by clinical staff (the majority described care as either 'excellent' or 'outstanding'), as well as the kindness and courtesy offered by reception staff. All patients said they felt involved in decision-making about the care and treatment they received. They told us they felt listened to and supported by staff and had sufficient time during consultations to make an informed decision about the choice of treatment available to them.

Our other key findings were:

• Member patients found it easy to access appointments with a GP or nurse, and were offered unlimited appointments with a GP or nurse.
• The practice offered out-of-hours appointments if required.
• A GP was available to take telephone calls at evenings and at weekends.
• The practice offered children’s vaccination appointments and promoted awareness of vaccinations through its social media outlets.
• The practice held a register of its most vulnerable patients which was updated and monitored daily. Appointments were prioritised as appropriate.
• The practice distributed a newsletter to over 5000 patients. As well as patient feedback, the newsletter covered clinical topics of interest and the practice position on medical topics such as cancer screenings.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGPChief Inspector of Primary Medical Practices and Integrated Care