Updated 10 March 2020
The Sele Medical Practice provides Primary Medical Services to the town of Hexham and the surrounding areas. The practice provides services from one location, Hexham Primary Care Centre, Corbridge Road, Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 1QJ. We visited this address as part of the inspection.
The surgery is located in purpose-built premises which are shared with another GP practice on the site of Hexham General Hospital. There is step free access at the front of the building and all facilities are on the ground floor with full disabled access. There is car parking to the front of the surgery including dedicated disabled parking bays.
The practice has three GP partners and two salaried GPs. The practice is a training practice which has GP registrars allocated to the practice (fully qualified doctors allocated to the practice as part of a three-year postgraduate general medical training programme). There are three practice nurses. There is a business manager, assistant manager and a medicines manager who also works as a healthcare assistant. There is a head receptionist and eleven reception and administration staff.
The practice provides services to approximately 6000 patients of all ages. The practice is commissioned to provide services within a General Medical Services (GMS) contract with NHS England.
The practice is open from 8am on Monday and Thursday and from 7:30am on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. The practice closes at 6.30pm Monday to Friday. Extended access appointments are available outside of practice hours at a separate location. The service for patients requiring urgent medical attention out of hours is provided by the NHS 111 service and Northern Doctors Urgent Care Limited.
Information taken from Public Health England placed the area in which the practice is located in the ninth least-deprived decile. The average male life expectancy is 80 years and the female is 83. Male life expectancy is higher than the CCG and national averages of 79 years. The female life expectancy is the same as the CCG and national averages of 83 years. The practice has a higher percentage of patients between the age of 45 to 85 when compared to national averages. The percentage of patients reporting with a long-standing health condition is slightly higher than the national average (practice population is 56% compared to a national average of 54%).