England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice has taken a Tadworth GP practice out of special measures following improvements in the quality of its services.
Tadworth Medical Centre in Tadworth Surrey had two previous inspections, in July 2015 when it was rated Requires Improvement and March 2016 when it was rated Inadequate and placed into Special Measures. At this inspection in November 2016 the practice was rated Good for being safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led and Good overall.
The full report of the inspection has been published on this website.
After the inspection in March 2016, the practice put an action plan in place to make sustainable improvements to the areas of concern which CQC had outlined, and to make sure that regulations were met. At this inspection the practice was rated Good overall.
Following our recent inspection, inspectors found that there was a plan for continuous improvement which was reviewed to ensure improvement within the practice. For example, the practice had reviewed performance for diabetes related indicators which were significantly below the national average and had put in place patient audits, additionally trained staff and additional nursing hours to improve results.
Previously urgent appointments were usually available on the day they were requested. However, patients rated the practice significantly below average for several aspects of their ability to access services. In response to this the practice had added extended hours appointments at the practice on Tuesday and Thursday from 7.30am to 8am, and on Monday and Wednesday from 6.30pm to 7.30pm. The practice’s own patient survey results showed a significant improvement in how patients rated access to services.
The practice also participated in a locality initiative which enabled patients to access appointments from 6.30pm to 9.30pm Monday to Friday and from 9.30am to 1.30pm on Saturdays and Sundays at four different locations (Epsom, Nork, Leatherhead and from Tadworth Medical Centre).
Professor Steve Field, Chief Inspector of General Practice, said:
"It is clear that Tadworth Medical Centre has made some real improvements since our previous inspections, 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:
“Since our previous inspections, we have found the practice have taken to heart our findings and a definite improvement 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 applauded for its work and very proud of this achievement.”
Ends
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