Shirley Avenue Surgery

Updated 3 March 2016

Shirley Avenue Surgery is located in a converted detached property at 1 Shirley Ave, Southampton, SO15 5RP.

The practice is part of the group practice of Cheviot Road Surgery and Shirley Avenue Surgery and has an NHS General Medical Services contract to provide health services to approximately 7266 patients in and around the Shirley area of Southampton.

We did not inspect the Cheviot Road surgery on this visit.

The Shirley Avenue location accommodates five GPs, three male and two female. There is a practice nurse treatment room and two further consulting rooms used by various health professionals. All GP rooms and treatment rooms are on the ground floor.

The GPs work a total of 30 sessions per week. The practice has two practice nurses, a healthcare assistant who is also a Phlebotomist and a further Phlebotomist. The practice is a teaching practice taking medical students.

The clinical team are supported by a practice manager, assistant practice manager, IT manager reception supervisor, medicine manager and a team of receptionists, typist and administration support staff. All staff work at specific surgeries but are contracted to work at both Cheviot Road and Shirley Avenue.

The practice has staff on site from 07.50am Monday to Friday and the phone lines open at 08.00am. The practice is open between 8.30am and 6.30pm Monday to Friday. The practice offers patients continuity of care so appointments will be booked with their regular doctor, unless they are not available. All clinic times are variable between the hours of 08.30am and 6.30pm.

The practice is currently holding Saturday clinics for pre-booked non-urgent appointments. These clinics are held between 08.40am and 12.15pm and alternate between the Shirley Avenue and Cheviot Road practices.

The practice offered telephone consultation appointments with the GP or nurses which could be arranged via the reception team. The practice also offered home visits if required and appointments with the practice nurses if the patient felt they did not need to speak with a GP.

Urgent appointments were also available for people who needed them. Routine appointments could be made well in advance usually up to five weeks in advance. Appointments could be made by phone, on line or by visiting the practice. The practice offered online booking of appointments and requesting prescriptions.

Patients could request to be seen in the evening between 6:30pm – 8:00pm and at weekends at one of the Southampton Federation hub practices.

The practice has opted out of providing out-of-hours services to their own patients and refers them to the Out of Hours service via the NHS 111 service.

Updated 3 March 2016

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Shirley Avenue Surgery on 13 January 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.

• Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.

• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.

• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.

• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.

• Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and that there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.

• The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.

• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.

• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 3 March 2016

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

• Nursing staff had lead roles in chronic disease management and patients at risk of hospital admission were identified as a priority.

• 96% of patients with diabetes, on the register, had received influenza immunisation in the preceding 1 August 2014 to 31 March 2015.

• Longer appointments and home visits were available when needed.

• All these patients had a named GP and a structured annual review to check their health and medicines needs were being met. For those patients with the most complex needs, the named GP worked with relevant health and care professionals to deliver a multidisciplinary package of care.

Updated 3 March 2016

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

• There were systems in place to identify and follow up children living in disadvantaged circumstances and who were at risk, for example, children and young people who had a high number of accident and emergency attendances. Immunisation rates were relatively high for all standard childhood immunisations.

• 83% of patients diagnosed with asthma, on the register, which had an asthma review in the last 12 months.

• Patients told us that children and young people were treated in an age-appropriate way and were recognised as individuals, and we saw evidence to confirm this.

• 92% of women patients aged 25-64 had received a cervical screening test in the proceeding five years. The national average for cervical screening was 84%.

• Appointments were available outside of school hours and the premises were suitable for children and babies.

We saw positive examples of joint working with midwives and health visitors.

Updated 3 March 2016

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

• The practice offered proactive, personalised care to meet the needs of the older patients in its population.

• The practice was responsive to the needs of older patients, and offered home visits and urgent appointments for those with enhanced needs.

• The practice had an avoiding unplanned admissions initiative.

• The local rest home had chosen to register all their service users with the practice.

Updated 3 March 2016

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

• The needs of the working age population, those recently retired and students had been identified and the practice had adjusted the services it offered to ensure these were accessible, flexible and offered 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 for this age group.

• There are no daily limits to telephone consultations at Shirley Avenue and availability is demand led.

• The practice had availability every Saturday morning for routine appointments at one of the group practices, or patients could request to be seen in the evening between 6:30pm – 8:00pm and at weekends at one of the local clinical commissioning group and Southampton Federation hub practices taking part in the Southampton area.  

Updated 3 March 2016

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

• 92% of patients diagnosed with dementia that had had their care reviewed in a face to face meeting in the last 12 months, which is better to the national average.

• 98% of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and other psychoses had received a comprehensive, agreed care plan recorded in the preceding 12 months.

• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of patients experiencing poor mental health, including those with dementia.

• The practice carried out advance care planning for patients with dementia.

• The practice had told patients experiencing poor mental health about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.

• The practice had a system in place to follow up patients who had attended accident and emergency where they may have been experiencing poor mental health.

• Staff had a good understanding of how to support patients with mental health needs and dementia.

Updated 3 March 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 homeless patients, travellers and those with a learning disability.

• The practice offered longer appointments for patients with a learning disability.

• The practice regularly worked with multi-disciplinary teams in the case management of vulnerable patients.

• The practice informed vulnerable patients about how to access various support groups and voluntary organisations.

• Staff knew how to recognise signs of abuse in vulnerable adults and children. Staff were aware of their responsibilities regarding information sharing, documentation of safeguarding concerns and how to contact relevant agencies in normal working hours and out of hours.