England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice has taken a North Shields GP practice out of special measures following improvements in the quality of its services

Spring Terrace Health Centre, North Shields, Tyneside was rated Inadequate overall under the Care Quality Commission's new approach to the inspection of GP practices following an inspection in March 2015, and was put into special measures.

When CQC inspected the Spring Terrace Health Centre in January 2016, they found the practice had made many improvements since the last inspection. The practice has now been rated, overall as Good.

The latest inspection has found the practice is good in all five domains – safety, effectiveness, caring, responsiveness and well-led. A copy of the report from this latest inspection has been published on this website.

Staff had addressed the concerns we identified during our previous inspection. It is encouraging to report that the GP partners and the practice manager were highly committed to delivering good quality care and promoting good outcomes for patients, and they had a clear vision about how to do this.

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

"It is clear that Spring Terrace Health Centre has made a significant number of improvements since our original inspection when we had major concerns relating to the safe delivery and effectiveness of services at the practice.

"With the support of NHS England and local Clinical Commissioning Group, the practice has been able to make improvements, and is now providing a safe and clinically effective service.

“The practice was now able to demonstrate that all staff were actively engaged in monitoring and improving quality and outcomes for patients. Staff were committed to supporting patients to live healthier lives through a targeted and proactive approach to health promotion.

Good progress had been made in addressing the concerns we raised at our previous inspection about patients’ access to appointments. A walk-in clinic had been introduced to help improve access to urgent appointments. The number of appointments available had also increased, in relation to the number of patients registered at the practice.

“Spring Terrace Health Centre  has worked hard, with the support from the local CCG and NHS England, on the issues we identified in our last inspection and has renewed its focus on patient safety. The practice has been rated good overall and I am pleased to say are now out of special measures.

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