The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Devonport Health Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

53 Damerel Close, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 4JZ (01752) 561500

Provided and run by:
Devonport Health Centre

Important: This service was previously registered at a different address - see old profile

All Inspections

6 July 2023

During a monthly review of our data

We carried out a review of the data available to us about Devonport Health Centre on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.

This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.

If you have concerns about Devonport Health Centre, you can give feedback on this service.

19 September 2019

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We decided to undertake an inspection of this service on 19 September 2019 following our annual review of the information available to us. This inspection looked at the following key questions; was the service providing effective and well led services for the registered patient population. We decided not to inspect whether the practice was providing safe, caring or responsive services as there was no information from the annual regulatory review which indicated this was necessary.

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

  • what we found when we inspected
  • information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
  • information from the provider, patients, the public and
  • other organisations.

We have rated this practice as good overall and good for all population groups.

We found that:

  • The practice had an ethos of delivering care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
  • Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
  • Audit was used but needed further development to establish systematic identification of patterns and themes.
  • Staff were developed and supported with a range of training in line with their role to ensure services were of high quality.
  • The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.
  • Governance systems were operated including quality improvement initiatives.
  • The practice was engaged in local initiatives and worked effectively alongside partners in the local healthcare and social care system.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

  • Review governance systems to include annual systematic analysis of significant events to identify trends and take corrective action.

  • Set up a system to carry out onward checks to see if the two week waits/urgent referral patients have received a timely response from the hospital.

  • Continue to implement quality and outcomes framework exception reporting quality improvement actions, to ensure patients with long term conditions receive timely reviews and improved health outcomes.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care

Overall summary

27 July 2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of Devonport Health Centre on

27 July 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

  • There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
  • Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
  • Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
  • All 35 patients providing feedback at the inspection said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
  • All 35 patients responding in writing or person said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
  • The practice had state of the art facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
  • There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
  • The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

We saw areas of outstanding practice:

  • Practice nurses went beyond what was required and regularly visited housebound vulnerable patients to ensure they received regular reviews of their long term health conditions. Data from the practice showed that 36 housebound patients receiving these visits. In 2015/16, 25 housebound patients were visited at home by practice nurses so that they were able to be protected from influenza by being vaccinated.

  • The practice had significantly reduced the number of secondary care referrals being made for patient by 9% in response to the national Success Regime initiative (The Success Regime focuses on certain areas in the country where there are deep-rooted, systemic pressures, such as financial deficits or issues of service quality) and had exceeded the locality goal of 3%. Patients were being treated closer to home and signposted to other services where possible for support.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice