Updated 1 November 2018
The provider, Carfax Health Enterprise Community Interest Company, delivers regulated activities from its location at Carfax NHS Medical Centre. Contact details are:
Carfax NHS Medical Centre
Swindon NHS Centre
1 Islington Street,
Swindon,
Wiltshire.
SN1 2DQ
Tel: 01793 541655
Website: www.carfaxhealthcare.co.uk
Carfax NHS Medical Centre is one of three practices operated by Carfax Health Enterprise Community Interest Company. The practice is based in Swindon, Wiltshire, and is one of 25 practices serving the NHS Swindon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area. Carfax NHS Medical Centre shares Swindon NHS Centre with a range of services such as a pharmacy, another NHS GP practice, dental and podiatry services. All Carfax NHS Medical Centre patient services including nurse treatment and GP consulting rooms are located on the first floor.
The practice has approximately 14,627 registered patients from an area surrounding the practice and Swindon town centre. The practice age distribution is broadly in line with the national average, with most patients being of working age or older. Carfax NHS Medical Centre is a member of a new federation of practices, ‘Brunel Healthcare Federation’. The aim of the federation is to provide a support network across practices.
The practice was taken over by the current provider on 1 April 2007, and an Alternative Provider Medical Services (APMS) contract is in place. An APMS contract is a locally negotiated contract open to both NHS practices and voluntary sector or private providers, for example, walk-in centres.
Carfax NHS Medical Centre provides the following regulated activities:
- Treatment of disease, disorder or injury
- Diagnostic and screening procedures
- Family planning
- Maternity and midwifery services
- Surgical procedures
Carfax NHS Medical Centre’s management team also manages their other practices. They are based at the Carfax site and split their time as required between the three locations. Carfax NHS Medical Centre operates a nurse-led model of care. All clinicians work together within their own areas of competence, to ensure patients are seen by the most appropriate person to meet their needs, allowing them to build and maintain a workforce of appropriately skilled nurses. Members of the clinical and administrative teams also work across all three sites. There are five salaried GPs. The wider clinical team consists of a senior primary care nurse, two advanced nurse practitioners, four treatment room nurses, four chronic disease nurses and five Health Care Assistants (HCAs). Two clinical pharmacists are also employed by the practice. The reception and administration team includes four clinical administrators, three receptionists and an office manager. The provider's corporate team includes a Medical Director, a Director of Nursing, a Director of Operations, an infection control nurse, and a range of corporate administrative staff. Each of the Directors is based in a different practice so that there is a Director available at all times. Each practice also has an Operational Manager.
It has been identified that 68% of the practice population describes itself as white, and around 32% as having a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) background. A measure of deprivation in the local area recorded a score of 5, on a scale of 1-10. A higher score indicates a less deprived area. (Note that the circumstances and lifestyles of the people living in an area affect its deprivation score. Not everyone living in a deprived area is deprived and not all deprived people live in deprived areas).
Carfax NHS Medical Centre is open from 8am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, and the practice will take calls during these times. Routine GP appointments are generally available throughout the day, from 8am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. The practice provides pre-booked extended hours evening appointments, for patients registered at any of its locations, at its Islington Street location. These are from 6.30pm to 8pm on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. The practice also offers extended hours appointments from 8am to 4pm, on alternate Saturday mornings, with a nurse or HCA.
The practice has opted out of providing Out-Of-Hours services to its own patients. Outside of normal practice hours, patients can access the NHS 111 service, and an Out-Of-Hours GP service is operated by the local acute Trust. Information about the Out-Of-Hours service was available on the practice website, in the patient registration pack, and as an answerphone message.