In the latest round of CQC inspections, the number of practices up and down the country receiving an outstanding rating reached the 114 mark. That’s not too many given over 3,000 practices have been inspected, so what made the last three practices to receive the top rating really stand out?

A caring practice

Several areas of outstanding practice were identified at Cobtree Medical Practice in Kent. One area in particular that inspectors rated highly was in the ‘Are services caring?’ section.

Data showed that patients rated the practice higher than others for all aspects of care. A strong patient-centred culture was observed and receptionists knew the patients well. Patients also said there was a homely feel to the practice. Staff were motivated and inspired to offer kind and compassionate care; for example, reception staff told us they would ring vulnerable patients or those with young children if their appointments were running late so that they would not spend excessive time in the waiting room. In cases of end of life care, the GPs provided dedicated telephone numbers to the families so that they could be reached in the event of a crisis.

This practice was also said to be well led. Inspectors liked that it had a clear vision with quality and safety as its top priority. The strategy to deliver this vision had been produced with input from staff and patients, and it was regularly reviewed and discussed with staff. High standards were promoted and owned by all practice staff, while there was very low staff turnover and a well-established team where staff worked across all roles.

What’s more, governance and performance management arrangements were under constant review. The practice actively sought out and used data from wide range of sources; for example, it had commissioned its own surveys and purchased specialist software to support the aim of providing the safest and effective care for patients. There were regular practice team and social events and the practice gathered feedback from patients using their website and surveys.

There was a very active patient participation group. The practice had proactively recruited patients so the group was representative of the practice demographic, including school age patients, carers, the disabled and the traveller community. The group had financed a number of improvements to the practice.

Responsive services

Minchinhampton Surgery in Gloucestershire was rated as outstanding for providing responsive services, amongst other things.

The practice worked closely with other organisations and with the local community in planning how services were provided to ensure that they met patient’s needs. For example, the practice was working closely with NHS England and the patient participation group (PPG) to acquire new premises to meet the needs of its local population. There were also innovative approaches to providing integrated person-centred care, such as the way in which the practice provided space for counselling and acupuncture services to its patients, which were underwritten by the charitable trust.

The practice implemented suggestions for improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a consequence of feedback from patients and from the patient participation group. One example is how the practice installed two information screens in the waiting area following feedback from the PPG that this would benefit patients.

Patients could access appointments and services in a way and at a time that suited them. The practice had an automated telephone system where patients could book an appointment at any time, but patients could still access a member of reception staff during the practice’s opening time. The practice also offered online appointment booking.

Interestingly, the practice was praised for its awareness of the poor public transport network in Minchinhampton and responded by arranging transport for patients with mobility issues.

Project-led

Last but not least, Sole Bay Health Centre in Suffolk received an outstanding rating thanks in no small part to the introduction of a couple of projects designed to look after specific groups of people within the community.

The Southwold Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP) project reflected the complex needs of the older population, with the majority of individuals supported being over 85 years of age. The practice was in the process of discussions with the clinical commission group for an adjoining plot of land to be developed into the Sole Bay Health and Care Home as an extension to the work already undertaken by CSIP.

The practice had also instigated the Sole Bay Care Fund, an independent registered charity run by local trustees to provide short term emergency care, resources and equipment not normally funded by the NHS or Social Services. The fund provided immediate care and support to those patients with an acute medical or social care need, and in many cases was effective in reducing unnecessary hospital admissions by providing short term care in the home or as near to home as possible.

CQC inspectors always investigate the quality of care across six different population groups and this practice received an outstanding rating for all six groups. An impressive achievement by any standards.

We hope this provides an insight into some of the initiatives practice managers are helping to implement at their practices in order to achieve top marks from inspectors. As always, reading through the reports, especially the outstanding ones, is hugely informative and full of good ideas – head along to www.cqc.org.uk to find them and read more on these outstanding practices.

What do you think of the latest inspection results? Let us know by commenting below or in the Practice Index Forum here.

————————————–

Trending topics in the forum:
CQC Statement of Purpose
Do you use Agenda for Change pay scales?
Deferring a CQC visit