Derbyshire GP practice is rated as Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found the quality of care provided by Dr M.R Spencer & Partners to be Outstanding following an inspection carried out in October 2014.

Inspectors found that the practice was providing an innovative, caring, effective, responsive and well-led service that meets the needs of the community it serves.

Dr M.R Spencer & Partners (also known as Welbeck Health Centre) provides a primary medical service to patients living in and around Bolsover, Derbyshire. The practice also has a branch surgery in Glapwell.

A full report of the inspection has been published today.

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

The report on Dr M.R Spencer & Partners highlights a number of areas of outstanding practice, including:

• The practice has a strong learning culture and commitment to continued quality improvement. This culture was embodied by all staff across the service.
• The practice promotes work with young people and schools as part of the national “You’re Welcome” initiative. This includes engaging students in competitions and promoting healthy eating and alcohol awareness campaigns.
• The practice is involved with initiatives to promote physical and mental health wellbeing. For example, the service promotes adult literacy for patients with mental health needs and works alongside a local gym which provides chair-based exercise classes and runs a falls prevention group.
• A monthly singing group takes place which comprises of older patients who have chronic illnesses such as Alzheimer’s and memory problems. This activity is aimed at improving the mental wellbeing of older patients.
• The practice works proactively with the community matron to support end of life care planning and hospital admission prevention.

Janet Williamson, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice and Dentistry in CQC’s Central region said:

“Our inspection team were thoroughly impressed with what they saw at this practice. Feedback from patients was overwhelmingly positive and many commented that staff went above and beyond their level of duty to ensure patients felt comfortable and cared for.

“We found that the practice displayed an excellent understanding of the differing needs of their patients and acted on these needs in the planning and delivery of its services. We observed a patient centred culture and found strong evidence that staff were motivated to offer kind and compassionate care and go that extra mile.

“The practice demonstrated a commitment to supporting patients, enabling them to live healthier lives. The practice had a clear vision which had quality and safety as its top priority and we were particularly impressed with the initiatives the practice supported to help those with mental health illnesses.”

Professor Steve Field, Chief Inspector of General Practice said:

“I am delighted to highlight the exceptional standard of care which is being provided by Dr M.R Spencer & Partners .The service has a clear vision to improve the health and wellbeing of its patents and a variety of support groups are available.

“It is clear that staff at the practice were inspired to offer kind and compassionate care and they set an example to us all.

“All the staff at Dr M.R Spencer & Partners have demonstrated a real commitment to the people in their care. I have no doubt that they fully deserve to share the accolade of an Outstanding service.”

Ends

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