• Doctor
  • GP practice

The Whalebridge Practice

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

NHS Health Centre, 1 Islington Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN1 2DQ (01793) 692933

Provided and run by:
The Whalebridge Practice

Important: This service was previously registered at a different address - see old profile

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 8 November 2018

The provider, The Whalebridge Practice, delivers all regulated activities from its sole location at:

The Whalebridge Practice

Swindon NHS Centre

1 Islington Street,

Swindon

Wiltshire

SN1 2DQ

Tel: 01793 692933

Website: www.whalebridge.nhs.uk

The Whalebridge Practice is based in Swindon, Wiltshire, and is one of 25 practices serving the NHS Swindon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area. The Whalebridge Practice shares Swindon NHS Centre with a range of other services such as a pharmacy, another NHS GP practice, dental and podiatry services. A staffed reception area is located on the ground floor whilst a self-check-in reception area is on the first floor, along with nurse treatment and GP consulting rooms. 

The practice has around 11,499 registered patients from an area surrounding the practice and Swindon town centre. The practice age distribution is broadly in line with the national average, with most patients being of working age or older. The Whalebridge Practice is a member of a new federation of practices, named the Swindon Voice Federation. The aim of the federation is to provide a support network across practices.

The practice has a Personal Medical Services (PMS) contract to deliver health care services. PMS contracts are locally-agreed alternatives to the standard General Medical Services contract, and used when services are agreed locally with a practice. They may include additional services beyond the standard contract.

The Whalebridge Practice provides the following regulated activities:

  • Treatment of disease, disorder or injury
  • Diagnostic and screening procedures
  • Family planning
  • Maternity and midwifery services
  • Surgical procedures

There are three GP partners (all male). The wider clinical team consists of two practice nurses, one senior practice nurse and one Health Care Assistant (HCA), who is also a phlebotomist. The practice manager is concerned with the day-to-day running of the practice. The practice team also includes an office manager, and reception, administrative and secretarial staff.

79% of the practice population describes itself as white, and around 21% as having a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) background. A measure of deprivation in the local area recorded a score of 5, on a scale of 1-10. A higher score indicates a less deprived area. (Note that the circumstances and lifestyles of the people living in an area affect its deprivation score. Not everyone living in a deprived area is deprived and not all deprived people live in deprived areas).

The Whalebridge Practice is open from 8am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, and the practice will take calls during these times. Routine GP appointments are available after 10am, with urgent appointments available between 8am and 10am, Monday to Friday. The practice provides (pre-booked only) extended hours morning appointments from 7.30 am to 8am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; and from 7am to 8am on Tuesday and Friday (all with a GP and nurse).

The practice has opted out of providing Out-Of-Hours services to its own patients. Outside of normal practice hours, patients can access the NHS 111 service, and an Out-Of-Hours GP is available at Swindon Walk-In Centre. Information about the Out-Of-Hours service was available on the practice website, on the front door, in the patient registration pack, and as an answerphone message.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 8 November 2018

This practice is rated as Good overall.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Whalebridge practice on 9 October 2018, as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

  • The practice had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
  • The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
  • Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
  • Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
  • There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.
  • There was a proactive approach to understanding the needs of different groups of people and to deliver care in a way that met these needs and promoted equality.

There were areas where the provider should make improvements. The provider should:

  • Continue efforts to increase the programme coverage of women eligible to be screened for cervical cancer.
  • Continue efforts to form a patient participation group.
  • Continue efforts to improve patient satisfaction with services.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice