Archived: Honiton Surgery - Seamark

Updated 31 March 2015

The practice provides primary medical services to people living in the town of Honiton, Devon and the surrounding areas. At the time of our inspection there were approximately 4080 patients listed. The practice provides services to a diverse population age group and is situated in a town centre location.

The practice comprises of a team of five GP partners, two male and three female, who hold managerial and financial responsibility for running the business. In addition there are nine registered nurses and six health care assistants. An administration team and a full time practice manager are also employed in the running of the practice.

Seamark practice (which is part of the Honiton Surgery group) is open between Monday and Friday from 8.30am-6.30pm with extended opening hours being offered two evenings a week. Outside of these hours a service is provided by another health care provider, which patient’s access by dialling the national service number.

The practice has an established patient representation group (PPG). This is a group that acts as a voice for patients at the practice.

Patients who use the practice have access to community staff including district nurses, community psychiatric nurses, health visitors, physiotherapists, mental health staff, counsellors, chiropodist and midwives.

Updated 31 March 2015

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

Honiton Surgery Group – Seamark, was inspected on Wednesday 16 December 2014. This was a comprehensive inspection. The Seamark practice is part of the Honiton Surgery Group. The practice is shared with another practice known as Ward Practice, which is in the same building. Staff are employed by the Honiton Surgery Group and work for both practices. There is a computer system that has a shared administrative facility which enables all teams to view patients as one data base (GPs, nurses, community nurses and administrative staff). Both practices work as if the Honiton Surgery is one practice, however financially they are separate and are registered with CQC as separate locations.

The practice provides primary medical services to people living in the town of Honiton.

The practice provides services to a diverse population age group and is situated in a town centre location.

The practice comprises of a team of five GP partners, who hold managerial and financial responsibility for running the Seamark partnership. In addition there are nine registered nurses, five health care assistants, a practice manager, and administrative and reception staff.

Patients who use the practice have access to community staff including district nurses, community psychiatric nurses, health visitors, physiotherapists, mental health staff, counsellors, chiropodist and midwives.

Our key findings were as follows:

Patients reported having good access to appointments at the practice and liked having a named GP which improved their continuity of care. The practice was clean, organised, with facilities and equipment to consult with, examine and treat patients. There were effective infection control procedures in place.

The practice valued feedback from patients and acted upon this. Feedback from patients about their current care and treatment was consistently positive. Staff portrayed a non-discriminatory, person centred culture. Staff were motivated and inspired to offer kind and compassionate care and worked to overcome obstacles to achieving this. Views of external stakeholders were very positive and aligned with our findings.

The practice was well-led and had a clear leadership structure in place whilst retaining a sense mutual respect and team work. There were systems in place to monitor and improve quality and identify risk and systems to manage emergencies.

Patient’s needs were assessed and care planned and delivered in line with current legislation. This included assessment of patients’ mental capacity to make decisions about their care and treatment, and the promotion of good health.

Recruitment, pre-employment checks, induction and appraisal processes were in place. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and further training needs had been identified and planned.

Statistical data analysis demonstrated the practice performed comparatively with all other practices within the clinical commissioning group (CCG) area.

Patients felt safe in the hands of the staff and felt confident in clinical decisions made. There were effective safeguarding procedures in place.

Significant events, complaints and incidents were investigated and discussed. Learning from these events was performed and communicated amongst all staff.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 31 March 2015

Seamark practice is rated as good for the care of people with long-term conditions. There were emergency processes in place and referrals were made for patients whose health deteriorated suddenly. Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed. All these patients had a named GP and a structured annual review to check that their health and medication needs were being met. For those people with the most complex needs, the named GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

Updated 31 March 2015

Seamark practice is rated good for families, children and young people. The practice worked with local health visitors to offer a full health surveillance programme for children under the age of five. Checks were also made to help ensure the maximum uptake of childhood immunisations.

Ante-natal care was provided by a team of midwives who worked from the local hospital next door to the practice. Health visitors also held baby clinics at the community hospital and the practice had contact with the school nursing team. Systems were in place to alert health visitors when children had not attended routine appointments and screening.

Appropriate systems were in place to help safeguard children or young people who may be vulnerable or at risk of abuse.

Updated 31 March 2015

Seamark practice is rated as good the care of older people. The practice had a high percentage of its patient population in the 65 and over age group. The older people we spoke with were very appreciative of the GPs and nurses. They felt they were treated in a professional and kindly manner. Nursing staff were trained and experienced in providing care and treatment for medical conditions affecting older patients. GPs were able to refer patients to local services such as dementia screening clinics and falls assessment clinics. The practice was responsive to the needs of older people, and offered home visits and rapid access appointments for those with enhanced needs.

There were two care homes for older people in the area. There was a dedicated GP responsible for the care of the elderly people that lived there. There was also a dedicated telephone line that the care homes can use to call the practice to avoid delays and to be given priority.

Care was tailored to individual patient needs and circumstances. Patients were reviewed regularly by the GPs and nurses to promote their health and independence and to help avoid the admission to hospital. There were regular patient care reviews involving patients, and their carers where appropriate.

Updated 31 March 2015

Seamark practice is rated good for working age people. Patients who were of working age or who had recently retired told us they were pleased with the care and treatment they received.

The practice offered extended opening times two days a week to provide easier access for patients who were at work during the day. Patients were offered a choice when referred to other services.

Updated 31 March 2015

Seamark practice is rated good for people experiencing poor mental health.

The practice was tailored to patient individual needs and circumstances, including their physical health needs. Annual health checks were offered to people with serious mental illnesses.

GPs had the necessary skills and information to treat patients with poor mental health. They were also responsive in referring patients with mental health concerns to specialist services. Liaison was undertaken with external agencies, for example the mental health crisis team, local support groups and counsellors when required.

Updated 31 March 2015

Seamark practice is rated as good for the care of people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable. The practice held a register of patients living in vulnerable circumstances including homeless people, travellers and those with a learning disability. The practice staff had carried out annual health checks for people with a learning disability and offered longer appointments for them if required.

There were care homes for people with learning disabilities in the area. Annual health checks were offered to these patients in their own homes and for those living in care homes. Vaccinations were offered when required and managed safely. Appropriate arrangements were in place to facilitate access to care for patients with mobility limitations.

The practice worked with community health care professionals including physiotherapists and mental health workers to make sure vulnerable patients were visited in their homes to assess needs and facilitate provision of any equipment, mobility or medication.