Dudley GP surgery is rated as Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission has found the quality of care provided by Eve Hill Medical Practice, in Dudley, to be Outstanding following an inspection in February.

Inspectors found the practice was providing a safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led service that meets the needs of the population it serves.

A full report of the inspection has now been published.

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

The report on Eve Hill Medical Practice highlights a number of areas of outstanding practice, including:

• The practice took a proactive approach to understanding the needs of patients who were carers. Due to ongoing work to identify and support carers, the practice’s carers register had increased by 9% in a three month period. There was a dedicated carer’s lead in place and carers were offered support and regularly reviewed by the practice.
• The practice had identified that 21% of their carer population were also experiencing other conditions such as depression. The practice offered opportunistic depression screening for carers.
• The practice sent birthday letters to patients on their 75th birthdays to inform them of their named GP and to offer them an annual health check; 67% of patients who were aged 75 and above had attended for a health check within the previous 12 months.

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

“It is clear Eve Hill Medical Practice is providing an effective, responsive and well led service which is a real asset to the people living in this part of Dudley.

“Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment. The practice used innovative and proactive methods to improve patient outcomes and worked with other local providers to share best practice.

“We observed a strong patient-centred culture and we saw that staff treated patients with kindness and respect. There was a strong theme of positive feedback from patients we spoke with on the day of our inspection; this was also evident in completed comment cards, positive survey results and positive feedback on the practices NHS Choices web page.

“All of this hard work pays off in making a real difference to patients – which is why we have found this practice to be Outstanding.”

Ends

For further information, please contact Regional Engagement Officer, Helen Gildersleeve on 0191 233 3379.

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