CQC inspectors find Stonefield Street Surgery in Lancashire to be Outstanding

The Care Quality Commission has found the quality of care provided by Stonefield Street Surgery in Rochdale, Lancashire, to be Outstanding following an inspection in January 2016.

Under CQC’s 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 inspection team was led by a CQC lead inspector and included a GP, a practice nurse and a practice manager as specialist advisors, and an expert by experience. The services provided by Stonefield Street Surgery have been rated as Outstanding overall and Outstanding for providing services to the local population groups.

A full report of the inspection has been published today.

The surgery, operating from Stonefield Street in Milnrow, serves approximately 8,600 patients.

• The practice was highly thought of by its patients and performed well in national reporting.
• The practice was proactive in gathering patient feedback and adapted the service to their needs.
• Clinical audits were used to identify opportunities to improve the quality of the service and the practice implemented changes where necessary.
• The practice worked closely and engaged with the local community to better understand their patients’ needs, one GP trained and worked with a local drug liaison officer who together actively screened locally known drug users and vaccinated them against all relevant infectious diseases.
• Working to streamline the practice’s referral time with the local Memory Clinic, a community mental health service, they took part in a pilot scheme which developed a way to ensure that all relevant discussions and investigations were handled prior to the submission of a referral. The pilot has now been adopted throughout the local area.
• A clear vision for the practice was held by all the staff who worked to prioritise safe, high quality and compassionate care – with an open and transparent culture.

Sue McMillan, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice in the North, said:

"People told us that the staff at the practice treated them with dignity and respect, and also provided compassionate support to those in need. The staff at Stonefield Street Surgery were working hard to continually improve the quality of its service and provide people with consistently high quality care and treatment. It is a real asset to the people living in this part of Lancashire.

“When we visited the practice we were particularly impressed with the proactive nature of the service, working in the local community to better understand their patients’ needs and reacting to areas of concern positively.

“The practice was clearly well thought of by its patients. We found Stonefield Street Surgery was performing highly in patient surveys about the care and treatment it provided, and people we spoke to said they were treated with respect, dignity and compassion.

“This is a great example of what outstanding care looks like.”

Ends

For further information please contact CQC Regional Communications Officer Mark Humphreys on 0191 233 3519 or 07881656012.

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