Friary House Surgery

Background to this inspection

Updated 5 January 2018

Friary House Surgery is situated in the coastal city of Plymouth and is comprised of a single site in the city centre.

The practice provides a primary medical service to approximately 10,700 patients of a diverse age group. The 2011 census data showed that majority of the local population identified themselves as being White British.

There is a team of three GP partners, one female and two male; the partners are supported by two female salaried GPs. The whole time equivalent is four. The GP team are supported by a managing partner, a deputy practice manager, an assistant practice manager, four practice nurses, one advanced nurse practitioners, two paramedic, two health care assistants, one phlebotomist and additional administration staff.

Patients using the practice also have access to midwives who are co-located on the same site as the practice. Other health care professionals such as community nurses, counsellors, and social workers visit the practice on a regular basis.

The practice is open from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday. Appointments are offered between 8.30am to 6pm. Extended hours are offered on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 7.30am until 6pm and on every other Saturday from 7.30am until 11am. Outside of these times calls including those from patients are directed to contact the out of hour’s service and the NHS 111 number. This is in line with local contract arrangements.

The practice offers a Doctor First based appointment system whereby patients who needs to see a GP are triaged first. Following this a range of appointment types are offered including face to face same day appointments, telephone consultations and advance appointments as well as online services such as repeat prescriptions.

The practice has a Personal Medical Services (PMS) contract with NHS England.

This report relates to the regulatory activities being carried out at the following site:

Friary House Surgery

Beaumont Road

St Judes

Plymouth

PL4 9BH

We visited this site during our inspection.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 5 January 2018

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection 30 November 2016 – Good)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:

Older People – Good

People with long-term conditions – Good

Families, children and young people – Good

Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good

People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good

People experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia) - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Friary House Surgery on 5 December 2017 as part of our planned inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP)

Chief Inspector of General Practice