The Avenue Medical Centre

Updated 10 January 2017

The Avenue Medical Centre is located on the outskirts of Manchester and is overseen by North Manchester Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). At the time of our inspection the majority of patients were of white British background with the area being mixed from working class families to professional retired older patients.

The practice is a small two storey building. The ground floor held a modest entrance /reception area and consulting rooms with a waiting area. The first floor was accessible by stairs only which held staff offices, consulting and treatment rooms with small waiting areas. There were disabled toilets on ground floor with baby changing facilities. All staffing areas were closed off to the public with a code door entry system.

The practice is in the process of a complete upgrade and expansion of the current building to cope with the growing list size. Currently the practice has completely outgrown the premises. The practice struggles to accommodate clinical rooms for the GPs and meetings are held in the waiting areas. There are also issues with storage of medical equipment.

The practice has seven GP partners (three males and four females) with one advanced nurse prescriber, two practice nurses and two healthcare assistants. The practice also has a part time pharmacist. Members of clinical staff are supported by one practice manager and administrative staff.

The practice is open from 8am until 6pm Monday to Friday. Appointments times are between 9am and 6pm.

The practice has a General Medical Service (GMS) contract with NHS England. At the time of our inspection 10,157 patients were registered.

Patients requiring a GP outside of normal working hours are advised to call “ Go-to- Doc” using the usual surgery number and the call is re-directed to the out-of-hours service. The surgery is part of Prime Ministers GP Access scheme offering extended hours and weekend appointments to patients.

Updated 10 January 2017

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We undertook this focused inspection of at The Avenue Medical Centre on 14 December 2016 for one area within the key question safe.

We found the practice to be good in providing safe services. Overall, the practice is rated as good.

The practice was previously inspected on 1 March 2016. The inspection was a comprehensive inspection under the Health and Social Care Act 2008. At that inspection, the practice was rated good overall. However, within the key question safe, overview of safety systems and processes was identified as requires improvement, as the practice was not meeting the legislation at that time; Regulation 17 Health & Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014: Good Governance.

We found the following issues:

• There was no written procedure for the cold chain procedure.
• There was no designated lead or procedure for the monitoring and checking of vaccinations and emergency medicines.
• There was no use of risk assessment associated with clinical waste and storage, storage of liquid nitrogen and all vertical blinds.

On this inspection we reviewed a range of documents which demonstrated they were now meeting the requirements of Regulation 17 Health & Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014: Good Governance.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Updated 10 January 2017

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

This rating was given following the comprehensive inspection 1 March 2016. A copy of the full report following this inspection is available on our website:

http://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-571958248

Updated 10 January 2017

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

This rating was given following the comprehensive inspection 1 March 2016. A copy of the full report following this inspection is available on our website:

http://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-571958248

Updated 10 January 2017

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

This rating was given following the comprehensive inspection 1 March 2016. A copy of the full report following this inspection is available on our website:

http://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-571958248

Updated 10 January 2017

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

This rating was given following the comprehensive inspection 1 March 2016. A copy of the full report following this inspection is available on our website:

http://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-571958248

Updated 10 January 2017

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

This rating was given following the comprehensive inspection 1 March 2016. A copy of the full report following this inspection is available on our website:

http://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-571958248

Updated 10 January 2017

The practice is rated as good for the care of people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.

This rating was given following the comprehensive inspection 1 March 2016. A copy of the full report following this inspection is available on our website:

http://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-571958248