Frome Valley Medical Centre

About the practice

Frome Valley Medical Centre is focused on improving the health and happiness of our patients, their carers and our team.

Carefully and thoughtfully converted from a Cotswold farmhouse in 2000, our surgery is modern and continually maintained and developed to ensure facilities stay pleasant and up to date. It is also within commuting distance of Bristol, Bath and the Cotswolds.

After extensive research of current models and analysing patients’ wishes and historical consulting patterns, the practice is implementing an innovative patient-led model facilitated by trained receptionists who signpost patients to the most appropriate resource.

The practice offers a mix of pre-booked and same day face to face and telephone appointments.

An excellent team of Advanced Nurse Practitioners and highly trained nurses help to manage the same day workload. Work is shared equally and time for admin is protected.

The practice offers the full range of GP services and welcomes new employees’ skills and interests. Current services include in-house minor surgery, minor injuries, coil, implant and sexual health services, joint injections, dermatoscope and research.

Frome Valley Medical centre is a training practice. The practice works collaboratively with practices in Yate (including projects on IT, Research and Advanced Access), and is part of a local Cluster with Green Valleys (formerly Emerson’s Green and Leap Valley Surgeries), which is part of the Kingswood Locality, South Glos CCG.

Working environment, values and culture

The team are friendly, supportive and responsive to feedback, making time together socially as well as within their working roles.

The team is also well-trained, stable, happy and motivated, managers are effective and responsive and the partners have a good relationship and are committed to a shared future vision.

As a practice, the aim is to ensure that all roles are sustainable, with a manageable workload and good work/life balance. The teams sets out to deliver good quality patient care by giving staff the support and structure they need to do their jobs in a way that minimises stress.

The practice has a rolling program of projects to evaluate and implement changes to improve the way they do things.

The team are socially active, holding both practice wide social events and social events within individual teams on a regular basis. Daily coffee breaks give staff the opportunity to catch up with each other, while monthly clinical and all practice meetings allow discussion of work issues and looking at improvements.

The team also holds whole practice meetings every two months and annual, whole practice Away Days.

Both clinical, non-clinical teams and locums give the practice excellent feedback. Having gone through a significant transition over the past 18 months, the practice has put in place a wide range of staff ideas. The practice continues to actively ask for feedback through its staff survey.

What we offer

The practice offers as many flexible working options as possible, including part time working, job shares and other options, in order to recruit and retain a high calibre workforce.

The practice also offers a number of family friendly benefits, including family emergency leave, a childcare voucher scheme, maternity/paternity leave and a considerate approach to staff with the need to take unpaid leave or have more flexible working hours to deal with issues outside of work.

Learning and development

Learning and development takes place every day, from discussing clinical cases over morning coffee to interacting during surgeries to ask questions and get advice from colleagues. Regular clinical meetings also include significant event discussions, complaints, clinical topics and guest speakers.

Whole practice meetings take place every other month and there is an annual whole practice Away Day. Clinicians benefit from mentor sessions in their first 12 months. As well as weekly MDT meetings and monthly safeguarding meetings, there are also annual, in-house job appraisals for all clinical and non-clinical staff.

New staff, whether clinical or administrative, benefit from a comprehensive induction plan. There is an on-going mentoring scheme for clinical staff.

In their first two weeks, new staff sit in with a wide variety of other team members to understand their roles and how the practice operates. This includes extensive IT training.

GPs have one week pro-rata of protected study leave per week. An allowance for each GP covers the local GP educational scheme (or can be put towards other courses). The nurse team and non-clinical staff are all encouraged to take part in all relevant training and development, both to support their current roles and increase their skills. Time is made available for both in house and external training for staff at all levels, as part of individualised planned training/development programs and also as needs or opportunities arise.

Our patients

The practice has a good relationship with its patients who it describes as friendly, supportive and cooperative. This is demonstrated by the fact that the practice has and works closely with a very active and helpful Patient Participation Group and other supportive groups of patients.

The practice has a well-mixed demographic with a higher number of elderly patients and a reasonably affluent but varied patient group.

As the practice is located in Frampton Cotterell, a semi-rural location, there are also many commuting adults in view of the easy access to Bristol, Bath, London and the Cotswold towns.

The most recent patient survey score was a very good 86.6% as published on NHS Choices and a good relationship with our patients, demonstrated by the fact that we have a very active and helpful Patient Participation Group and other supportive groups of patients, with whom we work closely.