Archived: Avenue Medical Practice

Updated 7 January 2016

The Avenue Medical Practice is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide primary care services. The practice provides services to approximately 2962 patients from one location:

• 5 Osborne Avenue, Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE21JQ.

The Avenue Medical Practice is a small practice providing care and treatment to patients of all ages, based on a General Medical Services (GMS) contract. The practice is situated in the Jesmond area of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and is part of the NHS Newcastle Gateshead clinical commissioning group (CCG.) The health of people who live in Newcastle is varied when compared to the England average. Deprivation is higher than average, with about 13200 (29%) of children living in poverty. Life expectancy for both men and women is lower than the England average. Life expectancy is 11.9 years lower for men and 9.1 years lower for women, in the most deprived areas of Newcastle.

The Avenue Medical Practice is located in an adapted residential building and provides patients with fully accessible treatment and consultation rooms. All GP and nurse consultation rooms are on the ground floor. The practice provides a range of services and clinics including, for example, services for patients with asthma and heart disease. There are two GP partners (one male and one female), a practice manager, a practice nurse, and a team of administrative and reception staff.

The practice is open on Monday and Tuesday between 8am and 6:30pm, and on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday between 8:30am and 6pm. GP appointment times were as follows:

Monday: 8:30am-10:50pm; 15:40pm to 6:30pm.

Tuesday: 8am to 10:30am and 4pm to 6:30pm.

Wednesday: 8am to 12 noon and 1pm to 6pm.

Thursday: 8:30am to 12 noon, 1pm to 2pm and 2:30pm to 6pm.

Friday: 8:30pm to 10:30am and 3:30pm to 6pm.

Extended hours GP appointments were offered on alternate Saturdays, between 8:30am and 11am.

The service for patients requiring urgent medical attention out of hours is provided by the NHS 111 service and Northern Doctors Urgent Care Limited (NDUC).

Updated 7 January 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at the Avenue Medical Practice on 20 October 2015. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and report incidents and near misses.
• Risks to patients and staff were assessed and well managed.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance. Staff had received training appropriate to their roles and responsibilities.
• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. Areas for further improvement had been identified and the staff team was working with NHS England to secure these.
• Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and were involved in decisions about their care and treatment. Results from the national GP Patient Survey showed good levels of patient satisfaction regarding the quality of the care and treatment provided by the GP partners and the practice nurse.
• Patients reported good access to the practice and appointments.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by the management team. Good governance arrangements were in place.
• Staff had a clear vision for the development of the practice and were committed to providing their patients with good quality care. This included a good practice development plan which set out their priorities for development.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 7 January 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people with long-term conditions.

Effective systems were in place which helped ensure patients with long-term conditions received an appropriate service which met their needs. These patients all had a named GP and received an annual review to check that their needs were being met. For those people with the most complex needs, the named GP worked with other relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care. Nationally reported data showed the practice had performed well in providing recommended care and treatment for the clinical conditions commonly associated with this population group. For example, the practice had obtained 100% of the QOF points available to them for the chronic kidney disease indicator. This was 4.6% above the local CCG average and 5.3% above the England average. Patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority, and steps were taken to manage their needs. Staff had completed the training they needed to provide patients with safe care.

Updated 7 January 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of families, children and young people.

Antenatal and baby clinics were held by midwifery and health visitor staff attached to the practice. The GP partners provided support to these clinics. A full, child immunisation programme was provided. For example, the data showed that 100% of eligible children had received eight of the 18 childhood immunisations included in the programme and over 90% of eligible children had received seven of the other childhood immunisations. With regard to the other three immunisations over 87% had received these. Younger patients were able to access contraceptive and sexual health services, and appointments were available outside of school hours. There were systems in place to identify and follow up vulnerable children who were at risk of harm and neglect. Nationally reported data showed the practice had performed well in providing recommended care and treatment for this group of patients. For example, the QOF data for 2014/15 showed the practice had obtained 100% of the overall points available to them for providing cervical services. This was 1.8% above the local CCG average and 2.4% above the England average. 82.4% of women aged between 25 and 65 had received a cervical screening test in the preceding five years compared to the national target rate of 80%.

Updated 7 January 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of older people.

Staff provided proactive, personalised care which met the needs of older patients. Patients aged 75 and over had been allocated a named GP to help ensure their needs were met. Good arrangements had been made to meet the needs of ‘end of life’ patients. Staff held regular palliative care meetings with other healthcare professionals to review the needs of these patients and ensure they were met. The practice offered home visits and longer appointment times where these were needed by older patients. Nationally reported data showed the practice had performed well in providing recommended care and treatment for the clinical conditions commonly associated with this population group. For example, the practice had obtained 100% of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) points available to them for the cancer clinical indicator. This was 3.6% above the local clinical commissioning group (CCG) average and 2.1% above the England average. 76.9% of patients aged 65 years or over received a seasonal influenza vaccination which was better than the national average of 73.2%.

Updated 7 January 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of working-age people (including those recently retired and students).

The practice had assessed the needs of this group of patients and developed their services to help ensure they received a service which was accessible, flexible and provided continuity of care. The practice was proactive in offering online services, as well as a full range of health promotion and screening that reflects the needs of this group of patients. Nationally reported data showed the practice had performed well in providing recommended care and treatment for this group of patients. For example, the QOF data for 2014/15 showed the practice had obtained 100% of the overall points available to them for providing for patients with hypertension. This was 2.2% above both the local CCG and the England averages.

Updated 7 January 2016

The practice is rated as good for the care of people experiencing poor mental health (including people with dementia).

Nationally reported data showed the practice had performed well in providing recommended care and treatment to patients with mental health needs. For example, the QOF data for 2014/15 showed the practice had obtained 100% of the overall points available to them for providing care and treatment to patients with mental health needs. This was 7.3% above the local CCG average and 7.2% above the England average. Patients were provided with advice about how to access relevant support groups and voluntary organisations. Patients were also able to access in-house and local ‘Talking Therapy’ services. There were written guidelines for staff setting out what they should do to meet the needs of patients with poor mental health. Patients received annual healthcare reviews and had the opportunity to participate in the preparation of their personal care plans. One of the GP partners acted as the adult mental health lead for the local CCG, to help improve and develop services for this group of patients. The lead GP for patients with mental health needs had reviewed the reasons why some of these patients failed to attend planned appointments, and they had provided reception staff with guidance regarding how they should follow up patients who did not attend.

Updated 7 January 2016

The 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 patients with learning disabilities. Staff carried out annual health checks for patients who had a learning disability and offered longer appointments. Staff provided GP consultations for homeless men at a local healthcare centre, and, where appropriate, had made referrals to secondary care so patients could access appropriate healthcare. Staff provided vulnerable patients with information about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations. Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse in vulnerable adults and children. Staff understood their responsibilities regarding information sharing, the documentation of safeguarding concerns and contacting relevant agencies.