Hawthorn Medical Centre

Updated 10 October 2023

Hawthorn Medical Centre is located in Swindon at:

May Close,

Swindon,

Wiltshire,

SN2 1UU

The provider is registered with CQC to deliver the Regulated Activities; diagnostic and screening procedures, maternity and midwifery services and treatment of disease, disorder or injury and surgical procedures.

The practice is situated within the Swindon Integrated Care Board and delivers General Medical Services (GMS) to a patient population of about 12,600. This is part of a contract held with NHS England.

The practice is part of a wider network of GP practices consisting of a total of 5 practices known as the Wyvern Health Partnership.

Information published by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the third lowest decile (3 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others.

According to the latest available data, the ethnic make-up of the practice area is 6.7% Asian, 89.3% White, 2.1% Mixed, and 1.9% identifying as Black or Other.

There is a team of 8 GPs who provide cover. The practice has a team of 3 nurse practitioners and 3 practice nurses who provide nurse-led clinics for long-term condition and a practice pharmacist. There are 4 health care assistants. The clinical team are supported at the practice by a team of reception/administration staff. There is a practice manager, deputy practice manager and a reception manager. The practice was also a training practice for GP registrars.

Hawthorn Medical Centre is open from 8.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, and the practice will take calls during these times. Routine GP appointments are available from 8.30am to 12pm and from 2.30pm to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The practice provides (pre-booked only) extended hours evening appointments from 6.30 pm to 7.30 pm on Mondays and Thursdays, with a GP and nurse. All extended hours appointments can be pre-booked up to one week in advance with a GP, and up to six weeks in advance with a nurse. Extended access is also provided locally by Brunel Health Group, where late evening and weekend appointments are available.

The practice has opted out of providing Out-Of-Hours services to its own patients. Outside of normal practice hours, patients can access NHS 111 and an Out-Of-Hours GP service 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 answer phone message.

Updated 10 October 2023

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Hawthorn Medical Centre on 10 August 2023. Overall, the practice is rated as good.

Safe - good

Effective - good

Caring - good

Responsive - good

Well-led - good

Following our previous inspection on 30 April 2018, the practice was rated good overall and for all key questions.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Hawthorn Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

We carried out this inspection in line with our inspection priorities.

Key questions inspected:

• Safe
• Effective
• Caring
• Responsive
• Well-led

How we carried out the inspection

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site.

This included:

• Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
• Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system (this was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements).
• Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider.
• Requesting evidence from the provider.
• A short site visit.

Our findings

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 found that:

• The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
• Information from complaints and significant events was used to drive improvement.
• Staff were provided with appropriate training and development to carry out their role.
• 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.
• Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way, where improvements were needed the practice actively review the range and type of appointments provided.
• The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.
• Staff were supported by leaders and there was an open culture which allowed ideas and concerns to be shared and acted upon.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

• Continue to review arrangements of doors to promote fire safety.
• Continue with the action plan developed as a result of the findings from the clinical searches carried out as part of the inspection.
• Continue with the action plan developed by the practice manager in relation to systems and processes.

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

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Health Care