Wivenhoe Medical Centre

Updated 14 May 2019

Wivenhoe Medical Centre is situated in a small river estuary town on the outskirts of Colchester, Essex. The practice holds a General Medical Services contract with the NHS. There are approximately 8560 patients registered at the practice.

The practice is registered with CQC as a partnership. There are three GPs at the practice, two male and one female. They are supported by three practice matrons, three practice nurses and two health care assistants. The administrative supporting the clinical team is comprised of a practice manager, two secretaries, three prescription clerks, three reception/administrators and an apprentice. Staff members work a range of hours including full and part-time and many of them are multi-skilled to cover for holidays and illness.

The practice is registered to provide the following regulated activities: diagnostic and screening procedures, family planning, maternity and midwifery services, surgical procedures, and treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

The patient profile for the practice has an above-average for the local area working age population, between the ages of 20 and 49 years and fewer than average older patients, aged over 75. The locality deprivation level was ten. Deprivation is scored from one to ten with one being the most deprived and ten being the least.

Wivenhoe medical centre is a member the ‘Colte Partnership’ group of practices and offers an extended hours service of appointments up to 8 pm on weekdays, and Saturday and Sunday mornings.

The practice has opted out of providing 'out of hour’s’ services to their own patients which is now provided by Care UK, an ‘Out of hours’’ healthcare provider. Patients can also contact the NHS 111 service to obtain medical advice if necessary.

This practice has not been inspected by the Care Quality Commission since they moved to the new practice location.

Updated 14 May 2019

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Wivenhoe Medical Centre on 26 March 2019 as part of our inspection programme.

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

• what we found when we inspected
• information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
• information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as Good overall and Good for all population groups.

We found that:

• The practice had clear systems and processes to keep patients safeguarded from abuse. Staff at the practice were able to identify the safeguarding lead.
• Systems were in place to manage risk.
• Appropriate standards of cleanliness and hygiene were being met, and annual audits and monitoring had been carried out.
• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• The practice had identified patients that were carers to ensure they had access to the care and support they needed.
• The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
• The practice listened to their patients and organised and delivered services to meet their patients’ needs.
• Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
• The practice had effective clinical oversight, to ensure care and treatment was well-led.
• The GPs had the skills to deliver high-quality, sustainable care.
• Staff told us they felt supported, valued and their opinions were listened to.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence table.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care

Updated 14 May 2019

Updated 14 May 2019

Updated 14 May 2019

Updated 14 May 2019

Updated 14 May 2019

Updated 14 May 2019