Goodheart Surgery

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

We looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture

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

This service scored 79 (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 had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

Staff were aware of and had contributed to the development of the practice vision and strategy, which was kept under review. The practice mission statement was shared with staff and patients, for example, it was clearly displayed on the practice website and shared in in job descriptions.

The service had exceptionally inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They always did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

Staff were extremely positive about the leaders in the practice. They told us they were supportive, approachable and responded to any concerns raised. Staff told us how well they had been supported through difficult times in their personal lives and had appreciated the caring attitude shown. They also told us they were always involved prior to any changes being made in the practice. Staff told us leaders modelled the values of the practice. We saw the leadership team worked with other practices in the primary care network and were engaged in the development of primary care services within the local area. For example, they had been involved in a project for joint health and social care reviews, and this project was to be expanded across the city.

The service fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

The practice had established Freedom to Speak up polices. Staff were aware of how to raise concerns and found the leaders to be approachable and supportive.

The service valued diversity in their workforce. They work towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who work for them.

Policies and procedures to promote diversity and equality were in place. Staff had received relevant training including equality and diversity.

The service had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

Leaders and managers supported staff, and all staff we spoke with were clear on their individual roles and responsibilities. Managers met with staff regularly to complete appraisals and performance reviews. The provider had established governance processes that were appropriate for their service. Staff could access all required policies and procedures. Managers held regular practice meetings with staff, during which they discussed clinical concerns and emerging risks. Managers clearly recorded any actions arising from these meetings and ensured they shared these with staff. Regular clinical audits were undertaken and these showed how they had identified areas for improvement and identified patients who required additional interventions. Staff took patient confidentiality and information security seriously. We identified some areas for improvement during the assessment and we found leaders had already identified some of these areas and had developed and implemented an improvement plan, for example, for pre-employment health checks. They also acted immediately to address other areas identified in the assessment, for example, addressing the issues relating to temperature recording of medicine fridges.

The service understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

The provider worked with other practices within their primary care network to offer extended access, and vaccination programmes. Staff had worked together with community groups to improve their services and upskill staff.

They engaged with their patient population through several outreach and drop-in clinics and held outdoor events such as park run/walk, litter picking days and coffee mornings. Events were advertised on their social media page.

The patient participation group had been moved to integrate into the cross practice PCN group but was due to be moved back to local practice’s control. The manager had plans to relaunch the group. A representative from the PPG told us they hadn’t attended a meeting for a while, but the provider had previously been good at sharing information with the PPG.

The service focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. They actively contributed to safe, effective practice and research.

The practice was a training practice for GP Registrars and Students from Hull and York Medical School.

All staff were encouraged to put forward and test out new ways of working, and we saw examples where staff had been encouraged to develop. For example, one member of staff had undertaken the GP assistant course funded and mentored by the practice.

The practice took part in studies to improve care for patients. For example, the practice had a high rate of patients who smoked and who had complications due to this. They participated in the study conducted by Hull and York Medical School aimed at reviewing health seeking behaviour of patients with respiratory conditions. They also took part in Lung Health check initiative from the local hospital.

The practice had an annual quality improvement plan in place to help drive improvements in services. They had recently implemented changes to the telephone and appointment system to improve access for patients.