Updated 20 November 2018
Sandown Health Centre is a practice situated in Sandown on the east side of the Isle of Wight. The practice shares a building with district nursing, health visitors and the community rehabilitation team.
The practice is located at:
Broadway
Sandown
Isle of Wight
PO36 9GA.
The practice has an NHS general medical services (GMS) contract to provide healthcare and does this by providing health services to approximately 12313 patients.
At the time of the inspection the practice had received permission to close its practice list for new patient registrations apart from immediate family members and new born babies of existing patients. This was due to an increasing patient list and loss of GP partners and nursing staff. The practice was actively working to recruit new staff. A new salaried GP had just joined the practice. This would lead to the practice list being re-opened.
Sandown Health Centre is a training practice for GP Registrars and 5th year medical students. We were told the practice had trained students since 1988, helping to attract a high calibre of GPs and nurses with dedicated clinicians for each of 6th form experience students prior to entering medicine, undergraduate training for medical students and nurse placements.
Appointments are available between 8.30am and 6pm from Monday to Friday. Evening appointments are also available on Wednesdays and Thursdays between 6.30pm and 8pm. The practice has opted out of providing out-of-hours services to their own patients and refers them to the local urgent care service via the NHS 111 service.
From December 2017, the government asked for a range of routine (pre-booked) appointments for GP, Practice Nurse and clinical specialists outside of the practice normal hours.
The advanced access service can be for anyone from any practice, and is available from 6.30pm to 8.00pm Monday to Friday with further appointments on a Saturday and Sunday. These appointments are available at various locations on the Isle of Wight.
Monday – Thursday: Shanklin/Sandown. GP, Nurse & health care assistant face to face appointments.
Saturday: Newport/Ryde/Sandown. GP, Nurse, Advanced Nurse Practitioner & health care assistant face to face appointments.
Friday & Sunday: Telephone appointments only.
The mix of patient’s gender (male/female) is almost half and half. Approximately 27% of patients are aged over 65 years old which is higher than the average for England. The practice is located in a high area of deprivation.
Sandown Health Centre treats a number of patients who misuse drugs and alcohol and/or experience poor mental health. The practice also treats a high number of temporary residents especially during summer months when people come to the Isle of Wight for holidays.
The practice has five GP partners and a salaried GP who together work an equivalent of five and a quarter full time staff. In total there are four male and two female GPs. The practice also has two Advanced Nurse Practitioners, a lead nurse, eight practice nurses and five health care assistants and a clinical pharmacist. The GPs and the nursing staff are supported by a team of 11 reception staff and 11 administrators and the practice manager.