• Doctor
  • GP practice

Fowey River Practice

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

The Surgery, Rawlings Lane, Fowey, Cornwall, PL23 1DT (01726) 829272

Provided and run by:
Fowey River Practice

Latest inspection summary

On this page

Background to this inspection

Updated 26 September 2018

The partnership of GPs registered as Fowey River practice runs one registered location and two branch surgeries. All three sites were inspected on 25 and 26 July 2018. This was a comprehensive inspection. The practice is located at:

Fowey River practice

The Surgery. Rawlings Lane, Fowey, Cornwall. PL23 1DT

Branch surgeries are situated in Par and Polruan. There is a dispensary at Polruan Surgery, which provides dispensing services to patients living in that area.

The practice provides a primary medical service to approximately 8000 patients of a diverse age group. The practice population is in the sixth deprivation decile for deprivation. In a score of one to ten the lower the decile the more deprived an area is. Particular areas of Par and the surrounding villages have higher levels of deprivation. There is a practice age distribution of male and female patient’s equivalent to national average figures. Average life expectancy for the area is similar to national figures with males living to an average age of 80 years and females to 84 years.

The partnership at the practice comprises of three GPs partners and an advanced nurse practitioner (two male and two female). They are supported by three salaried GPs (two male and one female). The team are supported by a practice manager, three practice nurses and three healthcare assistants. There are administrative and reception staff, some of whom are qualified dispensers working across the dispensary at Polruan and reception areas.

Fowey River Practice is an approved training practice providing vocational placements for GPs registrars. One GP partner is approved to provide vocational training for GPs, second and third year post qualification doctors. Teaching placements are provided for trainee practice nurses, medical students and student nurses. At the time of the inspection there was a GP registrar on placement at the practice.

The practice is SAVVY approved (Young people friendly service). Friendly, confidential and teenage specific services are available and run by a named advanced nurse practitioner at the practice. Emergency contraception, coils and implants, free condoms, contraceptive advice and any health or well-being advice is provided as needed. Appointments are available on Saturdays by request or after school or college. Urgent same day appointments and telephone advice are available. Young people are able to choose who they wish to consult with.

Patients using the practice also have access to community nurses, mental health teams and health visitors. Other health care professionals visit the practice on a regular basis.

The practice is open between 8am and 6:30pm Monday to Friday at Fowey River. GP appointments are available from 8.30 am. Branch surgery opening times are listed on the practice website. Extended hours opening is available. Patients have a choice of early morning appointments (before 08:30), evening or Saturday morning appointments. The times, days and location varied from week to week to accommodate patient needs. Extended hours surgeries are pre-bookable only and appointments made between one week and up to 48 hours before the surgery was held, via reception, during normal surgery hours. Outside of these times patients are directed to contact the out of hour's service by using the NHS 111 number.

The practice provides extended access to GPs for patients who are receiving end of life care, which includes telephone contact and home visits.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 26 September 2018

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection February 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 Fowey River Practice on 25 and 26 July 2018. The inspection was a routine inspection as part of our inspection schedule.

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 processes.
  • Audit was embedded, with the practice routinely reviewing the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. Care and treatment was always delivered according to evidence-based guidelines.
  • All 30 patients gave strongly positive verbal and written feedback at the inspection about staff treating them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
  • Staff were caring and raised funds for local charities every year.
  • People’s individual needs and preferences were central to the planning and delivery of flexible tailored services.
  • All patient feedback highlighted ease of access to the appointment system. Extended hours were available enabling working patients and school children to access a range of services from the multi-disciplinary team.
  • As a training practice, there was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation. Proactive succession planning based on staff development and training of future GPs, doctors and practice nurses was evident.
  • The practice was one of only 12 research practices in the Southwest, supporting and recruiting patients for research studies to improve outcomes for patients.
  • Fowey River Practice had successfully registered a further 1500 additional patients in 2017/18, increasing the list size by 25%. Patient feedback indicated existing patients reported no adverse impact for them.

We saw an area of outstanding practice including:

The practice provides truly holistic patient centred care. Many examples were seen demonstrating that patients were treated with dignity and received compassionate care. Carers and patients verified that GPs went above and beyond what was expected of them, for example providing 24 hour/7 day telephone access and visits to support for vulnerable patients receiving end of life care.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice