Practice Plus Group Surgical Centre, Devizes

Updated 25 September 2026

Practice Plus Group Devizes Surgical Centre, formerly known as the Devizes NHS treatment centre, is operated by Practice Plus Group Hospitals Limited and provides both NHS and privately funded care. The centre is an elective surgical hospital located on the outskirts of Devizes, Wiltshire, delivering a range of services including orthopaedic surgery, general surgery, ophthalmology, endoscopy, diagnostic imaging and outpatient consultations.

The centre predominantly provides day-case surgery and diagnostic services. Patients who require inpatient surgical treatment are transferred to the organisation's sister hospital, Practice Plus Group Hospital Emersons Green, near Bristol, enabling patients to access a wider range of surgical services and ongoing inpatient care when required.

The centre is located within a purpose-built, single-storey modular building with controlled access arrangements through swipe card and fob entry systems. Facilities include a reception area and administrative offices, five outpatient consultation rooms, a patient waiting area, an endoscopy treatment room, diagnostic imaging and ultrasound facilities, a patient admission lounge, recovery area and two operating theatres. The centre also has dedicated staff facilities, storage areas and office accommodation.

Services are delivered through a multidisciplinary team and are supported by established clinical governance, patient safety and operational management arrangements. The centre works closely with its sister hospital and external partner organisations to support patient pathways, continuity of care and access to specialist services when required.

The centre provides a modern elective surgical environment focused on delivering safe, effective and patient-centred care, with pathways that support timely access to diagnostics, outpatient assessment, surgery and rehabilitation.

Updated 26 February 2026

We carried out an inspection of the centre on the 26th of May 2026. We inspected all quality statements across safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led key questions.

We rated this service as good. Staff spoke positively about working at the centre, indicating a supportive culture. Patients reported receiving good standards of care. There was evidence of a learning culture, with incidents reviewed and practice improved as a result. Staff demonstrated good practice in meeting the needs of patients with additional needs, including effective use of communication support (e.g. Language Line) to enable timely care. Prompt action was taken when out-of-date medicines were identified, with immediate removal and replacement arranged.

The environment met required standards, with facilities compliant with Health Building Notes (HBN) and supporting systems (e.g. water, waste, ventilation).

A small number of records lacked documented pain scores; however, pain assessment and communication were observed to be effective in practice. Not all staff were aware of mortality and morbidity (M&M) meetings or the learning from these.

Updated 9 February 2017

We rated outpatients and diagnostic imaging as good overall because:

• Incidents were reported and thoroughly investigated, and learning was shared. Trends from incidents were monitored and reviewed.

• The outpatient department environment was clean and staff adhered to infection control protocols. There had been no incidents of treatment centre acquired infections during the twelve months preceding our inspection.

• There were safe systems for the management of medicines. These were monitored closely by the pharmacy team and discrepancies were fed into the governance processes.

• There was adequate nursing and medical staff as determined by the use of a safe staffing tool.

• Individual patient care records were comprehensive, legible and complete. Records were stored securely.

• There was good compliance with mandatory training including safeguarding adults and children. Safeguarding concerns were reported by staff and were investigated by the safeguarding lead.

• Staff assessed and responded to patient risks. The patient experience nurse followed up all patients by telephone after their outpatient appointment and prior to their surgery. This nurse ensured that all investigations and screenings were completed, and checked that patients understood and were compliant with pre-surgery guidance such as changes to medication routines.

• Outpatient department teams reviewed assessment and treatment protocols in line with guidance published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

• Staff in the diagnostics service followed best practice guidelines including use of local rules and diagnostic reference levels to aid optimisation in medical exposures.

• The outpatient service participated in a comprehensive audit programme and submitted patient reported outcome measures for groin hernia repair and varicose vein operations.

• All staff had an up to date appraisal. Staff were encouraged to attend external training. The appointment process for medical staff was rigorous and assured.

• There were good interdisciplinary relationships within the treatment centre. Clear referral criteria were available for referring health professionals.

• All relevant information needed for patient care was accessible to staff.

• Patients attending outpatients and diagnostics were extremely likely or likely to recommend the service to others.

• Staff showed an encouraging, supportive and sensitive approach toward patients and used communication skills to provide reassurance to patients who needed emotional support.

• Patients were given a choice of locations for their outpatient appointment. Theatre schedules were prepared three months in advance to allow outpatients a choice of date for their surgery.

• Referral to treatment times were within 12 weeks. Radiology images were reported on within 24 hours.

• Multidisciplinary meetings were held to discuss the requirements of patients with additional needs such as learning a disability. Reasonable adjustments were made such as encouraging carers to attend the outpatient appointment and booking double appointment slots.

• The registered sick children’s nurse ensured that the specific requirements of patients aged 16-18 years were identified and addressed prior to their surgery date.

• Complaints were investigated thoroughly and learning was shared across teams.

• Governance systems were in place to ensure safe care for patients. There were reliable systems for staff to identify and escalate risk

• In the monthly governance meeting, senior staff discussed and reviewed key performance data and updates to clinical protocols and guidelines.

• There was a comprehensive programme of audit. Actions were taken to make improvements as a result of audits.

• The treatment centre was moving towards meeting the workforce race equality standards. An electronic database had been set up to record personal details volunteered by staff regarding ethnic background.

• Staff told us they felt supported by managers and their peers

• There was good engagement with patients and with staff.

However

• Not all staff prioritised the requirement to keep fire exits clear. We saw a supplies cage obstructing a fire exit on two separate occasions.

• Staff turnover was high during April to July 2016.

• Not all staff took action to minimise risks to the privacy of patients during outpatient consultations.

• The percentage of patients who did not attend for their appointment was high for dental first appointments and for dental follow up appointments.

• Some aspects of the clinic environment were not well designed to meet the needs of patients with visual impairment.

• The 2016 staff survey identified areas for improvement.

• Details of the controls and gaps in controls on the risk register were not consistently well defined.

• The risk register was not specific to core services and contained both open and closed risks. This meant that open risks specific to the outpatient department were less easily located on the risk register.