Suite 1

Updated 26 April 2018

Taurus Healthcare Limited is the provider arm of the Herefordshire GP Federation serving patients in Herefordshire. The service is registered as a location with CQC and managed from Suite 1, Berrows Business Centre, Bath Street, Hereford, HR1 2HE and the office is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday. Their website provides more detailed information about their services. www.taurushealthcare.co.uk.

The service holds an Alternative Provider Medical Contract (APMS) with NHS England to provide extended hours services in Herefordshire The APMS contract is a contract between general practices and NHS England for delivering primary care services to local communities. Taurus Healthcare Limited was established in 2012 to provide out of hospital services for 185,000 patients and is run by a board of directors.

Taurus Healthcare manages three primary care hubs which offer local GP and nurse extended hours services to patients from across the county. The main hub is based at South Wye Medical Centre in Hereford which is open from 6.30pm to 8.30pm on weekdays and 8am to 8pm on weekends and bank holidays. Two other hubs are based at The Marches, located in Leominster, and Pendeen Surgery, located in Ross on Wye. These hubs are open from 8am to 12pm on weekends and bank holidays.

The hubs have been chosen to best serve the rural and geographically diverse population in Herefordshire. Patients can be seen by direct appointment arranged by the patients’ own practice or through triaged referral by NHS 111 or the West Midlands Ambulance Service. Details of the appointment are made available to the patient’s regular GP. We visited the main hub at South Wye Medical Centre in Hereford as part of this inspection.

Updated 26 April 2018

This service is rated as Good overall. This service has not previously been inspected.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? Rated Good

Are services effective? Rated Good

Are services caring? Rated Good

Are services responsive? Rated Good

Are services well-led? Rated Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of Taurus Healthcare Limited on 20 February 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The provider had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the provider learned from them and improved their processes.
• The effectiveness and appropriateness of the care provided was routinely reviewed to ensure that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
• Staff involved and treated people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
• Feedback from patients about their care was consistently positive.
• There was a system for recording, actioning and tracking patient safety alerts. Alerts had been reviewed and action taken where appropriate.
• All appropriate recruitment checks had been carried out on staff prior to being employed by the service.
• The leadership, governance and culture were used to drive and improve the delivery of its service. All staff were involved in the development of the service and were proud of their achievements.
• There was a service development plan that documented both their long and short-term priorities.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice