CQC rates Urban Village Medical Practice, Manchester as Outstanding

The Care Quality Commission has found the quality of care provided by Urban Village Medical Practice in Ancoats, Manchester to be Outstanding following an inspection in June 2015.

Under CQC’s programme of inspections, all of England’s GP practices are being given a rating according to whether they are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

The inspection team, which included a GP, a practice nurse and a practice manager as specialist advisors, rated the services provided by the Urban Village Medical Practice as Outstanding for older patients, people with long term conditions, families, children and young people, people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable and people experiencing poor mental health.

A full report of the inspection has been published today.

The surgery, on Old Mill Street in Ancoats, provides primary medical services for over 10,000 patients. This includes specialist services provided for the homeless population within Manchester.

The report highlights a number of areas of outstanding practice, including:

• The practice had developed a wide range of services for homeless patients to improve their health outcomes including access to weekly multidisciplinary drop-in clinics.
• The practice had established a hospital in-reach service known as The Manchester pathway (Mpath). This involved staff from the practice visiting Manchester Royal Infirmary to assess homeless patients. They ensured that these patients were discharged with a package of care, housing, and engagement with primary care services to help prevent unnecessary re-attendance at A&E.
• The practice provided support to approximately 200 patients in relation to substance misuse in partnership with Manchester RISE substance misuse service.
• The practice had flexibility within their appointment system to ensure all patients requiring on the day emergency appointments were seen.
• The practice had achieved Gold, the highest award in the NHS ‘Pride in Practice’ award from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Foundation in recognition of its commitment and dedication to ensuring a fully inclusive patient-centred service.

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

“I am delighted to highlight the exceptional standard of care which is being provided by Urban Village Medical Practice.

“Feedback from patients was overwhelmingly positive and many commented that staff went above and beyond their level of duty.

“We were particularly impressed with the way the practice used innovative and proactive methods to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, particularly homeless patients.

“Staff demonstrated a commitment to help support people to live healthier lives and drive continuous improvements in the outcomes for patients.

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

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For further information please contact Kirstin Hannaford on 0191 233 3629.

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