Christchurch Medical Practice

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

We looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on the best available evidence.

At our last assessment, we rated this key question as Good. At this assessment, the rating remains the same.

This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service did not always make sure people’s care and treatment were effective because they did not always check and discuss people’s health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

During our remote clinical searches, we noted 103 people with an asthma diagnosis who had been prescribed 2 or more rescue steroid prescriptions in last 12 months following acute exacerbations. A review of 5 people’s records identified none had been followed up in line with national guidelines. This increased the risk of further exacerbations and poorer long-term asthma control. In response, the service had started to implement a process whereby prescribing a rescue steroid following an acute exacerbation would trigger an alert for an appointment review to be booked by the service’s administration team. This process had not been embedded at the time of our assessment and therefore we were unable to determine its effectiveness.

We also noted 175 people with possible undiagnosed chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 3-5 who had 2 or more kidney blood tests (eGFR

The service planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards.

The service had systems and processes for updating clinical guidelines and protocols. Leaders demonstrated how clinical guidelines were shared with staff through email bulletins, team meetings and education sessions. The service had an induction programme for clinical and non-clinical staff which included training, appraisal and guidance delivering evidence-based care. Clinical staff had access to local care pathways and prescribing guidelines with the British National Formulary (BNF).

The service worked well across teams and services to support people. They made sure people only needed to tell their story once by sharing their assessment of needs.

The service worked with stakeholder organisations including secondary healthcare providers to establish and maintain safe systems of care for people. For example, staff used service systems to log and monitor referrals including correspondence from healthcare professionals involved in people's care.

The service worked with the primary care network’s (PCN) ‘AMBER/Frailty’ team to support housebound and vulnerable people with frailty through treatment planning and regular ward rounds for those residing in local care homes as part of a multi-disciplinary team.

The service had a direct telephone line for healthcare professionals, including PCN teams, community services and local ambulance service for urgent escalation or clinical support.

The service supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. The service supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.

The service offered a range of health promotion initiatives and supported people to make healthy lifestyle choices. For example, we observed a blood pressure monitor and weight scales in the service’s private waiting area to encourage people to monitor their own health. Staff understood the needs of the local population and used this knowledge to offer advice on prevention, early identification of risk, and the management of long‑term conditions. The service supported national priorities and initiatives to improve population health such as smoking cessation, weight management, and screening programmes. Digital resources including NHS ‘Live Well’ and a health information video library available through the service’s website. The service employed social prescribers in collaboration with the local primary care network (PCN) who connected and supported people with activities, groups and services that improved their health and wellbeing.

The service held regular cardiovascular disease (CVD) management webinars for eligible people identified through Q-RISK (a national assessment tool used to estimate CVD risk), with Livewell Dorset (a healthy lifestyle specialist community organisation). This supported people to make informed lifestyle choices and reduce their risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

The service routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured people’s outcomes were positive and consistent, and met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

Outcomes for people were generally in line with local and national averages, including meeting national minimum targets for childhood immunisations. The service regularly monitored Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) indicators and demonstrated they had carried out audits to improve clinical quality. For example, the service completed an antibiotic stewardship audit to assess prescribing against the local primary care antibiotic prescribing protocol and formulary to identify themes, trends and training needs. Antibiotic stewardship aims to ensure antibiotics are prescribed appropriately to improve outcomes for people, reduce unnecessary prescribing and minimise the risk of antibiotic microbial resistance (AMR). The audit identified 76% of prescriptions issued between February to March 2026, were compliant with the local antibiotic prescribing guidelines. The service presented and discussed the audit findings at team meetings and used the results to promote antibiotic stewardship, adherence to prescribing guidelines and the importance of accurate clinical record keeping. The service planned to repeat the audit in October 2026 to compare findings.

The service told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.

Staff understood the legal requirements relating to consent. Mental capacity assessments were completed where required, and consent was recorded accurately in the person’s clinical record. There was evidence of shared decision-making and staff had received training in the Mental Capacity Act.