Updated 9 September 2019
St Georges Surgery is based in a residential area close to Blackburn town centre and the local NHS hospital at 62 Haslingden Road, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB2 3HS. The practice website can be found at www.stgeorgessurgery.co.uk
There is onsite parking available and the practice is close to public transport links. The surgery is housed in a purpose-built, two-storey building comprising of consulting and treatment rooms, administrative office space and a large patient waiting area. The practice provides services to approximately 9000 patients. The provider told us how the practice was experiencing rapid growth in the patient list with 700 new patients registered in the previous year.
The practice provides family planning, maternity and midwifery services, surgical procedures, treatment of disease, disorder or injury and diagnostic and screening procedures as their regulated activities. The practice is part of the NHS Blackburn with Darwen Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and services are provided under a Personal Medical Services Contract (PMS) with NHS England.
There are two male and three female GP partners (one of whom was on maternity leave at the time of our visit). They are assisted by three long-term locum GPs. The practice also employs an
advanced nurse practitioner, three practice nurses and a health care assistant. Non-clinical staff consist of a practice manager and a team of 13 administrative and reception staff.
The practice patient population profile is similar to local and national profiles, with a slightly larger proportion of male patients aged over 65 years of age (18%) compared to the local average of 14%. The practice caters for a higher proportion of patients experiencing a long-standing health condition (65% compared to the local and national averages of 54%). The proportion of patients who are in paid work or full-time education is in line with the CCG average and slightly below the national average (58%, compared to 57% and 62% respectively). Information published by Public Health England rates the level of deprivation within the practice population group as three on a scale of one to ten. Level one represents the highest levels of deprivation and level ten the lowest.
Outside normal surgery hours, patients are advised to contact the out of hour’s service, offered locally by the provider East Lancashire Medical Services.