College Way Surgery

Updated 30 August 2018

College Way Surgery is located in Taunton, Somerset. The practice has a General Medical Services (GMS) contract to deliver primary health care to the local population.

The service operates from Comeytrowe Centre, Taunton, Somerset TA1 4TY. We visited this address as part of our inspection. Further information about the practice can be found at www.collegewaysurgery.nhs.uk

The practice serves a population of approximately 12,953 patients. The Index of Multiple Deprivation 2015 is the official measure of relative deprivation for small areas in England. The deprivation decile for this area is 10 being the least deprived. The practice had a slightly higher than average number of patients aged over 80 which equates to 9.6% of the practice population compared with the local average of 6.4%.

The practice consists of nine GP partners. The whole time equivalent (WTE) of GPs was just under seven WTE which equates to 57 GP sessions per week. The practice team includes five registered nurses, a practice manager, health care assistants and administrative staff which included two IT staff and an apprentice. At the time of the inspection the practice hosted a GP retainer (a scheme to return GPs to practice), a GP registrar (a trainee GP) and a foundation doctor (a postgraduate doctor).

The practice has opted out of providing Out Of Hours services to their own patients. Patients can access a local Out Of Hours GP service via NHS 111.

The Partnership is registered with the CQC in respect of the regulated activities: Diagnostic and screening procedures; Family planning; Maternity and midwifery services; Surgical procedures and Treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

Updated 30 August 2018

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection November 2014 – Good)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Outstanding

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out an announced inspection at College Way Surgery on 3 May 2018 as part of our 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.
• The practice undertook additional patient surveys for individual GPs and additional clinics. The survey outcomes reflected the national GP patient survey results showing significantly above average scoring.

We saw areas of outstanding practice:

The practice prioritised and worked proactively in ensuring services were delivered in ways that would improve patient outcomes. Services were proactively planned to meet a diverse range of patient need. We saw improvements in care for patients as a result of ongoing monitoring, clinical audit and quality improvement work, provision of additional services such as a dermatology clinic when the local service closed, engagement with community projects and local pilot schemes.

There was a strong focus on creating a culture of education, continuous learning and improvement at all levels within the practice. For example, all GPs acted as trainers and had received an excellence rating from the local deanery.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 30 August 2018

Updated 30 August 2018

Updated 30 August 2018

Updated 30 August 2018

Updated 30 August 2018

Updated 30 August 2018