Updated 30 April 2020
New Silksworth Medical Group provides care and treatment to approximately 10,335 patients of all ages from the Silksworth, Doxford Park, Farringdon and Middle Herrington areas of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. The practice is part of the NHS Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and operates on a General Medical Services (GMS) contract.
New Silksworth Medical Group was formed from a merger of two GP practices Church View Medical Centre and Colliery Medical Group) in 2017.
The contract for New Silksworth Medical Group is currently held by Sunderland GP Alliance (SGPA) which was founded in February 2015. SGPA is a not for profit federation of 36 GP practices in the Sunderland area which between them provide care and treatment to 94% of the city’s population. The Board of Directors are elected by the member GP practices on a four-year term and are responsible for directing the company’s operations on the shareholder’s behalf. All of the directors are required to be a partner in one of the member GP practices.
New Silksworth Medical Group provides services from the following address, which we visited during this inspection:
Silksworth Health Centre, Silksworth Road, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, SR32AN.
The surgery is located in a purpose-built health centre which is shares with another GP practice. The waiting area and consultation rooms are on the ground floor and are fully accessible for patients with mobility issues. An on-site car park with dedicated disabled parking spaces is available.
The surgery is open from 8am to 6pm on a Monday to Friday. Patients registered with the practice are also able to access pre -bookable appointments with a GP or Nurse Practitioner at one of five extended access facilities based across the City (Coalfields, East, North, West and Washington). The extended access services operate from 6pm to 8.30pm on a Monday to Friday and on weekends and bank holidays based on locally defined population needs.
The service for patients requiring urgent medical attention out-of-hours is provided by the NHS 111 service and Vocare, the local out of hours service.
The practice has:
- Seven salaried GPs (male and female – of which one was currently on maternity leave)
- Two locum GPs (both one male, one female)
- Two advanced nurse practitioners (both female)
- Four practice nurses (female)
- Three healthcare assistants (female)
- Seventeen administrative members of staff.
The average life expectancy for the male practice population is 79 (CCG average 77 and national average 79) and for the female population 82 (CCG average 81 and national average 83). 20.3% of the practice patient population are over the age of 65.
At 60%, the percentage of the practice population reported as having a long-standing health condition was higher than the CCG average of 59% and national average of 51%. Generally, a higher percentage of patients with a long-standing health condition can lead to an increased demand for GP services.
At 52% the percentage of the practice population recorded as being in paid work or full-time education was lower that the CCG average of 56% and the national average of 63%. The practice area is in the fifth most deprived decile. Deprivation levels affecting children were lower than the CCG average but comparable with the national average. Deprivation levels affecting adults are lower than the CCG average but higher than the national average.