• Doctor
  • GP practice

Hallgarth Surgery Also known as IntraHealth Limited

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Cheapside, Shildon, County Durham, DL4 2HP (01388) 772662

Provided and run by:
IntraHealth Limited

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 8 August 2018

Hallgarth Surgery is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide primary care services. The provider of this service is Intrahealth Limited, which is a corporate provider of NHS primary care services. The practice provides services to around 5,500 patients from one location; Cheapside, Shildon, County Durham, DL4 2HP, we visited this location as part of this inspection.

Hallgarth Surgery is located in purpose built premises single storey premises. There is car parking in the street at the front and the rear of the premises.

The practice has three salaried GPs (two male and one female), whole time equivalent (WTE) 2.5 and one long term locum GP WTE 0.2. There are two full time advanced nurse practitioners (ANP), three practice nurses (WTE 1.9), a full-time physician associate, pharmacist, assistant practitioner and health care assistant. There is a practice and office manager. There are 11 staff, who undertake administration duties, WTE 7.14.

The practice is a training practice which has GP trainees allocated to the practice (trainees are fully qualified doctors allocated to the practice as part of a three-year postgraduate general practice vocational training programme). The practice supports trainee ANP’s, nursing students, clinical pharmacists and physician’s associates.

The practice opening times are 8.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday other than a Tuesday evening when there are extended opening hours until 7.30pm. Appointments are available Monday to Friday, 8:30 – 11:20am, 1 until 6pm, then on a Tuesday evening until 7.15pm and family planning clinic is available until 7.10pm.

The practice provides late evening, weekend and bank holiday appointments;

they are part of the local GP federation of GP practices who work together to provide appointments with GPs, nurses or health care assistants outside of their normal working hours. Patients can contact the practice reception team to arrange appointments. When this service is not provided patients requiring urgent medical care can contact the out of hours provided by the NHS 111 service.

The practice is part of NHS Durham Dales and Sedgefield clinical commission group (CCG). The practice provides services based on a Personal Medical Services (PMS) contract agreement for general practice.

Information from Public Health England places the area in which the practice is located in the first most deprived decile. The income deprivation score for the practice is 43 compared to the CCG average of 30 and the national average of 24. In general, people living in more deprived areas tend to have greater need for health services. Average male life expectancy at the practice is 76 years which is lower than the national average of 79. Average female life expectancy at the practice is 78 years which is lower than the national average of 83 years.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 8 August 2018

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection November 2015 – 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

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Hallgarth Surgery on 12 June 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

  • The practice had systems to keep patients safe and safeguarded from abuse.
  • 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 provided a holistic approach to assessing, planning and delivering care. They used innovative approaches to how this was delivered and actively encouraged.
  • Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
  • Results from the National GP Survey were variable when compared to local and national scores.
  • The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. They took account of patient needs and preferences.
  • Patients were able to access care and treatment from the practice within an acceptable timescale for their needs.
  • There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation. The practice proactively used performance information to drive improvement.

The area where the provider should make improvements are:

  • Review the flooring in both of the patient toilets to ensure they can be cleaned effectively.

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