Upper Eden Medical Practice is rated as Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found the quality of care provided by Upper Eden Medical Practice in Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria to be Outstanding following an inspection carried out in November 2014.

Inspectors rated the practice as Outstanding for providing safe and well led services, and Good for providing caring, effective and responsive services.  

A full report of the inspection has been published today.

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 Upper Eden Medical Practice highlights a number of areas of outstanding practice, including:

• Patient safety was a priority in all the practice did. Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and information about safety was highly valued and used to promote learning and continual improvements.
• GPs in the practice had a number of specialist interests meaning that quick in-house referrals could be made to colleagues within the practice rather than referrals to secondary and other community care services which could take longer.
• The leadership, governance and culture of the practice had a positive impact on the delivery of care and high standards were promoted and owned by all practice staff
• The practice actively sought feedback from patients and stakeholders and regularly reviewed the needs of their local population to ensure positive outcomes for patients.
• The quality of care provided was high and very person centred. Patients were treated with compassion and were involved in decisions regarding their care and treatment.

Sue McMillan, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice in the North, said:

“I am delighted to highlight the exceptional service and standard of care which is being provided by Upper Eden Medical Practice.

“Feedback from patients was extremely positive and many praised the continuity of care and the ease of access to appointments, both in advance and urgently.

“The practice is to be commended for its very low rate of referrals. The fact that the practice has so many GPs with special interests clearly relieves pressure on the acute and other sectors.

“The GPs and staff at Upper Eden Medical Practice have demonstrated a real commitment to their patients.

“All of this hard work and dedication pays off in making a real difference for their patients – which is why we have found this practice to be Outstanding.”

Ends

For media enquiries, David Fryer 07901 514220 or call the CQC press office on 020 7448 9401 during office hours or out of hours on 07789 876508. For general enquiries, call 03000 61 61 61.