CQC rates two Somerset GP Practices as Outstanding

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found the quality of care provided by the Porlock Medical Centre and the Dunster Surgery in Somerset to be outstanding following an inspection carried out in May 2015.

Inspectors found that both surgeries were providing a safe, effective and well-led service that was caring and responsive to the needs of all the local communities.

Porlock Medical Centre and the Dunster Surgery provide primary medical services to patients living in and around the Minehead and Dunster areas of Somerset.

A full report of both inspections has been published today.

Ruth Rankine, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice for the South, said:

"It is fantastic that there are two practices within 20 minutes of each other supporting the local community with such outstanding care. The ease of access for patients and flexibility of appointment setting is an example to other GP practices.”

“Both practices clearly display a drive to improve services for their patients to provide good, high quality, compassionate and consistent care. This demonstrates a real patient centred culture and ethos and is certainly a great success for the Somerset area”

Linda Prosser, Director of Commissioning at NHS England South, said:

“This praise highlights the excellent care and attention that these surgeries give to their valued patients. A warm, caring practice providing safe and high quality care is what we want to ultimately achieve in primary care services. I congratulate them on this high achievement.”

Under CQC’s new programme of inspections, all GP practices in England are being given a rating according to whether they are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

The reports on both practices highlight a number of areas of outstanding practice, including:

• Both practices were forward thinking and used innovative methods to improve patient experience, including a home support service using nurses to visit isolated patients and those with high medical needs.
• They worked closely with other organisations and with the local community in planning how services were provided to ensure they met people’s needs.
• The practices encouraged suggestions for improvements from its patients and the Patient Participation Group (PPG) and made changes to the way it delivered services as a result. For example, Dunster Surgery involved the PPG in the selection of a new GP.