Updated 6 January 2023
The provider, Safe Care Network Limited, is a not for profit GP Federation of 19 GP practices based in North Lincolnshire covering approximately 170,000. They manage services from the location based at:
Ashby Clinic
Collum Lane
Scunthorpe
DN16 2SZ
Website: safecarenetwork.co.uk
The services comprise of:
1. Community Response Team
Global House
Kingsway
Scunthorpe
DN17 1AJ
A GP service which provides advisory services to community health teams and the ambulance service: 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week.
This service was visited as part of the inspection.
2. GP out of hours service
Ashby Turn Practice
The Link
Ashby
Scunthorpe
DN16 2UT
Out of hours GP services provided from Ashby Turn Primary Care Centre 6.30pm - 8am weekdays and 24 hours at weekends and bank holidays.
The GP Out of Hours Service is for patients residing in or visiting North Lincolnshire, who are experiencing a medical problem that cannot reasonably be expected to wait for the next opportunity to contact their own practice, in-hours.
This service was visited as part of the inspection.
3. Specialist assessment for the frail and elderly (SAFE)
Safecare was commissioned by North Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to run the SAFE Service in August 2018. This is an innovative service designed to improve the wellbeing of the North Lincolnshire’s elderly and frail residents by reviewing their physical, psychological, social and environmental needs holistically. One-off holistic frailty assessments are completed by a GP or a Geriatrician. Assessments are usually provided to patients at home or at Ashby Clinic, Scunthorpe if the patient can attend. The service is open 8.30am - 6pm.
This service was visited as part of the inspection.
4. Urgent Care Service
Urgent care services are delivered from the accident and emergency departments in Scunthorpe General Hospital and the Diana Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby between 8am and 8pm. All appointments are face to face and patients are triaged and booked into the service by accident and emergency staff.
The Scunthorpe service was visited as part of the inspection and we spoke to Grimsby staff by telephone.
5. The service manages a vaccination site for COVID19 vaccines until March 2023. This service is based at the Ironstone centre, West Street, Scunthorpe. This service was not inspected.
6. They also provide administrative rota management for practices extended hours for one Primary Care Network based in Ashby Clinic. This service was not inspected.
The service was registered to provide the following regulated activities on 31 January 2018:
Diagnostic and screening
Treatment of disease and disorder
How we inspected this service
We conducted site visits at Ashby clinic, Scunthorpe Hospital, Global House and Ashby Turn Primary Care centre to inspect the out of hours, urgent care, community response and SAFE services.
During the inspection we spoke with people using the service, interviewed staff and reviewed documents.
To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:
- Is it safe?
- Is it effective?
- Is it caring?
- Is it responsive to people’s needs?
- Is it well-led?
These questions therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.