Prudhoe Medical Group

Updated 7 November 2018

Prudhoe Medical Group is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide primary care services. The practice provides services to around 6,800 patients from one location; Kepwell Bank Top, Prudhoe, Northumberland, NE42 5PW.

The practice is situated in purpose-built premises at ground floor level. It offers on-site parking including disabled parking and step free access.

The practice has five GP partners (three female and two male) whole time equivalent (WTE) 2.8. There is a one female salaried GP (WTE 0.4). The practice is a training practice who have GP registrars allocated to the practice (fully qualified doctors allocated to the practice as part of a three-year postgraduate general medical training programme). There are three practice nurses (WTE 1.4), and one healthcare assistant (WTE 0.3). There is a practice manager. There are 12 (WTE 7.5) staff who undertake administration duties.

The opening times at the practice are 8am to 6pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Tuesdays from 7.30am to 6pm. Thursday 7.30am with emergency cover available by an on-call GP from 1pm to 6pm.

GP appointments are available 8.30 to 6pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Tuesday there are appointments available form 7.30am to 6pm. On Thursday from 7.30am to 1pm.

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

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 service provided by the NHS 111.

Information from Public Health England places the area in which the practice is located in the eighth most deprived decile, where one is the most deprived. In general, people living in more deprived areas tend to have greater need for health services. Average male life expectancy at the practice is 78 years which is lower than the national average of 79. Average female life expectancy at the practice is 82 years which is lower than the national average of 83.

Updated 7 November 2018

This practice is rated as outstanding overall. (Previous rating October 2014 – Outstanding)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Outstanding

Are services caring? – Outstanding

Are services responsive? – Outstanding

Are services well-led? - Outstanding

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Prudhoe Medical Group on 6 September 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 consistently reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence based guidelines.
• Feedback from patients who used the service, those close to them and external stakeholders was continually positive about the way staff cared for patients.
• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that access to appointments was good, staff confirmed this.
• Leaders had the capacity and skills to deliver high-quality, sustainable care. They had an inspiring shared purpose, strived to deliver and motivated staff to succeed.
• Staff told us they felt supported and engaged with managers and there was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

We saw two areas of outstanding practice:

• The practice had all-encompassing systems and processes in place to ensure that patients received high quality care and treatment. Significant events triggered clinical audits. Audits identified improvements to patient care, and also associated protocols and templates to systematically implement these improvements. This all together resulted in safe use of innovative approaches to improve how care was delivered. High quality care had been commended by the local clinical commissioning group.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Carry out a risk assessment for non-clinical staff who had not received a DBS check.

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

Updated 7 November 2018

Updated 7 November 2018

Updated 7 November 2018

Updated 7 November 2018

Updated 7 November 2018

Updated 7 November 2018