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

The Care Quality Commission has found the quality of care provided by Sutherland Lodge Surgery in Chelmsford, Essex, to be Outstanding following an inspection in October.

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

Sutherland Lodge Surgery provides general medical services to approximately 12,000 patients in Chelmsford. The surgery is also a training practice for doctors who are training to become GPs and for junior doctors and medical students.

A full report of the inspection has now been published and is available on this website.

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 Sutherland Lodge Surgery highlights a number of areas of outstanding practice, including:

• The practice employed a mental health nurse that worked collaboratively with the GPs to develop mental health care plans. She held her own patient lists that were patients that had been referred to her by the GP.
• The practice carried out a bi-monthly skin clinic ran by a GP with a diploma in dermatology. This GP liaises closely with the local dermatology consultant and has reduced the number of hospital referrals by being able to identify and treat minor symptoms locally. Data showed that the practice referral rates to hospital were lower than national and CCG averages for skin lesions.
• The practice used a form called ‘for you about you’ this contained information that is useful for other medical professions and contained the patient’s medical history as well as their thoughts and wishes about the level of care they wanted to receive.
• The practice provided training and teaching to medical students and GP trainees, they also offered a placement to student nurses.

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

“It is clear Sutherland Lodge Surgery is providing an effective, responsive and well led service which is a real asset to the people living in this part of Essex.

“Feedback from patients and clinical teams was excellent and staff went above and beyond their level of duty to care for patients. We observed a strong patient-centred culture.

“The practice had a clear vision which had quality and safety as its top priority. High standards were promoted and owned by all practice staff with evidence of team working across all roles.

“We saw a holistic approach to assessing, planning and delivering care and treatment to patients. The safe use of innovative and pioneering approaches to care and how it was delivered were actively encouraged. People who had complex needs were supported to receive coordinated care.

“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.”

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For further information, please contact Helen Gildersleeve, Regional Engagement Officer on 0191 2333379.

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