South London GP practice rated as outstanding by the Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found the quality of care provided by the Amersham Vale Practice to be Outstanding following a comprehensive inspection carried out in June 2015.

Inspectors found that the practice was providing a safe, caring, and well-led service that was particularly effective and responsive to the needs of the local community.

A full report of the inspection has been published today.

Under CQC’s programme of inspections, all primary medical services in England are being given a rating according to whether they are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.

CQC found that safeguarding processes were firmly established and embedded within practice culture. The practice had a child protection clinical and administrative lead and there was evidence of regular liaison with the local clinical commissioning group (CCG) regarding to safeguarding issues.

The practice had a clear vision which all staff understood. Staff said that they felt supported by the practice management team and were happy to make suggestions or raise concerns. Staff said that they understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, report incidents and near misses.

Although there was evidence of actions and learning from incidents that had occurred, the practice did not have an incident reporting policy in place.

The practice had increased the flexibility of access to appointments for vulnerable patients, unable to utilise the standard appointment and telephone systems, through the maintenance of a register which enabled priority appointments. Patients on the register were seen within an hour of attending the practice, or received an urgent call back.

CQC inspectors saw that the practice worked closely with a local homeless shelter to provide general medical care. Local homeless patients were able to access traditional primary care through the practice, including nursing care and vaccinations.

Ursula Gallagher, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice said:

"We have found that the Amersham Vale Practice is providing an Outstanding service, particularly for people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable.

“We were particularly impressed with the practice’s work to initiate positive service improvements for local patients and the commitment of all staff to continuously seek improved outcomes for local people.

“Staff demonstrated a sound understanding of the differing needs of their patients and reflected these needs when planning and delivering services. This is a great example of what outstanding care looks like.

Ends

For further information please contact Yetunde Akintewe, CQC Regional Engagement Manager, on 07471 020 659. For media enquiries, journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team here. For general enquiries, please call 03000 61 61 61.