Devon GP surgery is rated as Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found the quality of care provided by Leatside Surgery in Totnes, Devon, to be Outstanding following an inspection in October 2015.

Under CQC’s programme of inspections, all of England’s GP practices are being given a rating according to whether they are effective, caring, responsive and well led and rated good for safety. Leatside Surgery were rated Outstanding for being safe, caring, responsive to people’s needs and well led, and Outstanding for the services provided to all population groups.

The inspection team, which included a GP and a practice manager as specialist advisors, rated the services provided Leatside Surgery as Outstanding overall.

A full report of the inspection has been published on this website.

The surgery, located at Babbage Road, Totnes in Devon, serves over 13,900 patients.

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

• GPs at the practice provide daily medical support to inpatients at Totnes Community Hospital and one specialist GP had recently expanded the role. This included liaising with staff, patients, carers, social services and the voluntary sector to ensure patients once well enough to be discharged, do so in a timely, safe manner. The impact of this service also reduced admissions to the local district general hospital.
• The practice worked with the Caring Town Totnes group to recently raise the issue of homelessness and people begging on the streets of Totnes. Practice staff link with the local pastors and the ‘drop-in’ centre supporting homeless people in keeping these patients safe.
• The GPs had also offered an outreach service to two traveller communities in Totnes to ensure they were aware of the services available, particularly for young family members.
• The practice had also supported a programme in Totnes in offering sanctuary to refugees and asylum seekers if they wish to live in Totnes. Leatside Surgery stated they supported this to ensure people had access to healthcare.
• The practice had been nominated for an award as General Practice Team of the Year in the HEART UK NHS Health Check Awards 2015. This was for outstanding teamwork in the delivery of a project / innovation in the commissioning or delivery of the NHS Health Check Programme. The impact of this team delivered programme has been an increased prevalence and treatment of patients with pre-diabetes, diabetes and hypertension. The practice increased their Health Care Assistant capacity by 16 hours per week to improve access for patients.

Professor Steve Field, Chief Inspector of General Practice said:

“I am delighted to highlight the exceptional service at Leatside Surgery, people are entitled to services which provide safe, effective, compassionate and high quality care. The GPs and staff at Leatside Surgery 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. I hope other trusts will see this as a model for excellent care.”

Ruth Rankine, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice in the South, said:

“It is clear Leatside Surgery is providing a safe, caring and responsive service which is well led and a real asset to the people living in this part of Devon.

“Feedback from patients was excellent and staff made every effort to fully involve people in decisions about their care and treatment.

“There was a strong desire to learn at the practice, staff were highly skilled, engaged and committed to improving quality of care by learning from every opportunity and this was underpinned by their clear vision and strategy for the practice.

“The practice was actively involved in community care, undertaking innovative work to help the everyone within the area get better access to healthcare services.

“Staff demonstrated a comprehensive approach in managing the differing needs of their patients, proactively gathering feedback, and reflected these needs when planning and delivering services.

“This is a great example of what outstanding care looks like.”

Julia Cory, Head of Primary Care for NHS England in the South West, said:

“This is brilliant news for the patients and staff at Leatside Surgery, and a reflection of the standard of care they provide. They are a really well organised practice with an excellent practice manager, demonstrating what can be achieved and how the patients benefit when the skills and commitment of staff are harnessed fully.”