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

The Care Quality Commission has found the quality of care provided by Arden Medical Centre in Knowle, Solihull, to be Outstanding following an inspection in January.

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 and is available on CQC’s 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 Arden Medical Centre highlights a number of areas of outstanding practice, including:

• The practice took a proactive approach to understanding the needs of different groups of people. This included patients experiencing poor mental health (including dementia) and in vulnerable circumstances. Opportunistic screening was undertaken for dementia during flu clinics.
• The practice had approached a local psychiatrist (who specialises in problems relating to learning disabilities) in order to implement a memory screening assessment form to identify problems with memory and potential dementia for their patients with a learning disability; so that further support and treatment could be arranged as appropriate.
• The involvement of other organisations and the local community was integral to how services were planned to ensure that services meet people’s needs. An in-house dermatology nurse worked with the practice to offer services such as cryotherapy twice a month.
• The practice was a host site for consultant ear, nose and throat (ENT) clinics whereby an ENT consultant worked with the practice every other week.
• The practice was also focusing on how they could treat leg ulcers in the wider community through offering a tissue viability nursing service.

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

“It is clear Arden Medical Centre is providing a caring, responsive and well led service which is a real asset to the people living in this part of Solihull.

“Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment. All patients who were registered with the practice had a named GP and patients could access appointments and services in a way and at a time that suited them.

“The practice team was forward thinking and was becoming a lead practice in the area for various pilot schemes to improve outcomes for patients in the area. One project included offering online Skype consultations to patients. The practice had also recently been approved as a training practice in order to offer opportunities for trainee GPs in the future.

“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

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