Medcentres Plus

Updated 28 October 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the independent consulting doctors practice was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Medcentres Plus has occupied its current facility since 2013 and is arranged over the upper floors of a three-storey building. There are GP consulting and nurse treatment rooms, an operating theatre and a range of ensuite examination rooms. The top floor has two treatment rooms for minor operations, one at an enhanced level, and a gymnasium; and patient waiting rooms are situated on both floors. Registered patients are drawn from a wide geographical area, and their age distribution is broadly in line with the national average, with most patients being of working age or older. The service sees around thirty new patients a month for GP services only (which includes vaccinations, nurse appointments, medicals, and GP appointments), and also saw patients who were not registered, for non-GP services.

The clinical team consists of consultant doctors whose specialisms are plastic surgery, dermatology and general practice; a sonographer (sonographers are medical imaging professionals within the allied health sector who operate an ultrasound machine to perform diagnostic medical examinations), and three nurses (one of whom is also the service clinical lead). A once-weekly GP service is run by one of the doctors, who is also the Chief Clinical Advisor. The clinical team is supported by a service manager (who is also the Registered Manager).

Since the last inspection, in February 2018, the non clinical team has been increased to include an operations manager and two receptionists. The service has also developed more consistent working relationships with the wider healthcare community, through a number of new services occupying the building. As well as an NHS GP practice, the building now houses services specialising in paediatric care, hernia repairs, podiatry, relieving hearing loss, and fertility issues.

Medcentres Plus is open from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and the service will take calls during these times. Routine appointments are generally available from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and can be booked as required. Details of fees are available on the practice website, on a leaflet available in the practice and when the patient completes a treatment form at the reception desk.

We reviewed a range of information we hold about the practice in advance of the inspection and asked other organisations to share what they knew. We informed Wiltshire Healthwatch that we were inspecting the service; we did not receive any information of concern from them.

The provider delivers regulated activities from its sole location at Millstream House, Avon Approach, Salisbury SP1 3SL, Wiltshire.

Updated 28 October 2019

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Medcentres Plus on 5 September 2019, as part of our inspection programme.

Medcentres Plus is a private GP service based in Salisbury, a city in the county of Wiltshire. The practice offers a range of other services including cosmetic (surgical and non-surgical) treatments, earfold implants and vaccinations.

This practice is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. There are some general exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of service and these are set out in of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. At Medcentres Plus, services are provided to patients under arrangements made by a government department with whom the practice user holds a policy (other than a standard health insurance policy. These types of arrangements are exempt by law from CQC regulation). Therefore, at Medcentres Plus, we were only able to inspect the services which are not arranged for patients by a government department.

The Nominated Individual is the Registered Manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the practice. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the practice is run.

Seven patients provided written feedback about the practice, via CQC Comments Cards. We did not speak to any patients during our inspection. All cards referenced the high standard of care provided by clinical staff (the majority described care as either 'excellent' or 'outstanding'), as well as the kindness and courtesy offered by reception staff. All patients who provided written feedback said they felt involved in decision-making about the care and treatment they received. They said they felt listened to and supported by staff and had sufficient time during consultations to make an informed decision about the choice of treatment available to them.

Our other key findings were:

• Patients told us they found it easy to access appointments with a GP or nurse or for a clinical specialism.
• The service offered out-of-hours appointments if required.
• The service offered a range of vaccinations for children, adults and travel purposes.
• The service developed evidence-based treatments such as a minimally invasive procedure for ear reshaping.
• The service offered a range of healthchecks with a nurse or GP.
• The service offered a minimally-invasive pre-natal test to screen for chromosomal abnormalities.
• Patient satisfaction with the standard and quality of services received was high.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP
Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Practices and Integrated Care