Fylde Private GP

Updated 17 August 2023

Go-Private GP Ltd provides a private GP service, Fylde Private GP, from premises in the centre of Lytham St Annes, at 26 St Annes Road West, Lytham St Annes. Go-Private GP is a subsidiary of a local business which provides a range of other services in the local area.

Fylde Private GP is registered with CQC to undertake the regulated activities of: diagnostic and screening procedures, treatment of disease, disorder or injury, surgical procedures and family planning. The service currently offers private GP consultations, health checks, allergy testing, vaccinations and immunisations including travel vaccinations, minor surgery and joint injections.

The service currently has around 700 patients registered with them. They provide appointments for adults and children.

The clinical team consists of 4 GPs (3 male, 1 female) and a practice nurse (agency staff) 1 day per week. A healthcare assistant, practice manager, and patient services manager support the clinical team. The service was in the process of recruiting reception staff at the time of our inspection.

The service is open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 8.30 am to 4.30 pm, Thursdays 8.30 am to 6.30 pm and Fridays from 8.30 am to 3.30 pm and on alternate weeks to 6.30 pm. The service is currently not open at weekends.

Go-Private GP Ltd leased the premises from the original owner. The provider had refurbished the ground floor to meet the requirements of healthcare provision. There were 2 consultation rooms with a reception and waiting area and bathroom facilities available. The building was accessible for people with impaired mobility. Parking was available within the town centre which also had good public transport links.

The service had a website, which can be found at: https://www.fyldeprivategp.com.

Updated 17 August 2023

This service is rated as good overall.

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 Fylde Private GP on 21 July 2023. We carried out this inspection in line with our inspection priorities, to rate this service. This was the first inspection of this independent GP service.

At the time of our inspection, Fylde Private GP did not have a registered manager, however the practice manager had applied to become the registered manager and CQC approved their application whilst this report was being prepared. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Our key findings were:

• The service had a focus on providing safe and effective continuity of care for patients.
• There was clear oversight and management of risk to patients.
• The service did not verify patient identification on registration.
• GPs could make urgent referrals directly to NHS secondary care for diagnostic testing and had systems in place to verify that patients were offered appointments.
• The service had some monitoring of clinical care in place, but recognised this was an area they could improve upon.
• The service used technology to improve clinical care and support healthy lifestyles.
• Patient feedback about the service was highly positive.
• At present the service offered limited evening and no weekend appointments.
• The staff had responded to care for people in the town centre on a number of occasions.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Develop and embed comprehensive consultation and clinical audit processes.
• Undertake a review of demand for evening and weekend appointments to identify capacity to meet that demand.
• Implement a patient identification policy and process.
• Introduce effective systems for supporting clinical and non-clinical leaders.

Dr Sean O'Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Healthcare