Updated 29 May 2019
The provider, OWLS West Lancashire GP Federation is a healthcare federation created by an amalgamation of fifteen GP practices. The service was formed in 2017 when the provider, a GP membership community interest company previously registered to provide out of hours services in West Lancashire, transitioned to a federation. The service operates under a contract with the West Lancashire clinical commissioning group (CCG) and provides healthcare services to all residents in the CCG (sixteen GP practices); approximately 115,000 people.
The service headquarters is located in a GP practice premises in the Matthew Ryder Clinic at 20, Dingle Road, Upholland, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 0EN.
The service provides patient appointments to support primary care services by enabling patients to obtain a pre-booked appointment outside of their own practice’s core opening hours. Appointments can be booked through a patient’s own GP practice or the NHS 111 service and are available seven days a week, between 6.30pm to 8pm Monday to Friday, and 10am to 2pm on Saturday and 10am to 1pm on Sunday. The service does not accommodate walk-in patients.
Surgery sessions are run from five GP practice sites on a rota basis. These sites are in Ormskirk at the Ormskirk Medical Practice,18, Derby Street, L39 2BY, Skelmersdale at the service headquarters, the Sandy Lane Health Centre at WN8 8LA, the Birleywood Health Centre in Birleywood, WN8 9BW and the Burscough Family Practice, Burscough Health Centre, Stanley Court, Lord Street, Burscough, L40 4LA. For this inspection we visited the provider headquarters and the Burscough Health Centre service during the operation of the evening surgery.
The service weekday surgeries operate using either advanced nurse practitioners or GPs to offer patient appointments, and weekend surgeries are staffed by a team of GPs, advanced nurse practitioners, practice nurses and healthcare assistants. Receptionists offer support to these surgeries during their operation. A team of managers and administrative staff also supports the service.
GPs are generally sourced from local practices. The service comprises of a team of 12 regular active local GPs, three of whom are also service clinical directors, three advanced nurse practitioners, three practice nurses and five healthcare assistants supported by five service managers and six reception and administrative staff.
The provider also holds service agreements to act as a pilot service for patient social prescribing and an enhanced nursing home scheme operated through GP practices. This report covers the provision of the extended access service only.
The provider is registered to provide two regulated activities; diagnostic and screening procedures and treatment of disease, disorder or injury.