England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice has taken a Somerset GP practice out of special measures following improvements in the quality of its services.
Victoria Park Medical Centre, previously known as Doctor Lewis, Hawkes and Dicks in Bridgwater, Somerset, had been rated Inadequate during an inspection in February 2016, when the practice was placed into special measures.
During the latest inspection in November 2016, a specialist team of inspectors found that the practice had made a significant number of improvements and the practice is now rated Good overall. The practice was rated as Good for being safe, effective, caring, well-led and responsive to people’s needs.
The full report of the inspection has been published.
After the inspection in February 2016, the practice put an action plan in place to make sustainable improvements to the areas of concern CQC had outlined.
When inspectors returned in November they found effective systems were in place to keep patients safe and manage risks.
The practice’s management ensured staff felt supported and staff were trained to ensure they had the right skills, knowledge, and experience to deliver good care and treatment. Inspectors found that patients were involved in decisions about their care and treated with compassion, dignity and respect.
The practice provided facilities to support people to be involved in decisions about their care and to meet people’s needs. This included facilities for disabled patients, a hearing loop and translation services.
The practice was continuing to improve patient access to care. Patients were able to book an appointment with a named GP, routine and urgent appointments and same day appointments were available and the telephone system had improved.
Information about services and how to make complaints were available and easy to understand. The practice had improved their complaint procedures and demonstrated openness and transparency, where lessons were learnt, appropriate action had been taken and demonstrated that improvements had been made.
Complaint investigations showed openness and transparency. Lessons were learnt from individual concerns and complaints and from analysis of trends and action was taken to as a result to improve the quality of care
Professor Steve Field, Chief Inspector of General Practice, said:
"It is clear that Victoria Park Medical Centre has made some real improvements since our previous inspection where we identified serious concerns relating to the safe delivery of services and leadership of the practice.
"The practice is now providing a safe, caring and effective service. I am pleased to announce that the practice will come out of special measures and I congratulate them on the progress that they have made.”
Ruth Rankine, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice for the South of England, said:
“During our recent inspection we found improvements had been made in all areas and that action had been taken to identify, assess and manage risks to patients.
“We are pleased to see that the hard work and strong commitment from all practice staff to deliver improved services has resulted in higher standards of care for their patients. The practice should be very proud of this achievement.”
Linda Prosser, Director of Assurance and Delivery, NHS England South West, said:
“This is quite a significant turnaround for the practice and is testament to the hard work that the staff have made towards making improvements. We are committed to providing people with GP services and are reassured that the practice will be delivering these services at a higher standard.”
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