Merridale Medical Centre - RP Tew

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 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 practice had a clear mission statement: ‘Quality and Equality in Primary Care.’ Staff explained the practice believes every patient deserves exceptional care and an equal opportunity to live well.

The practice had also established set of values which included kindness, respect, and integrity, ensuring that every individual feels listened to, supported, and treated fairly. Staff told us by working collaboratively and continually developing their skills, they aim to deliver care that is both high in quality and grounded in compassion.

All the staff members we spoke with were positive about the culture of the practice. Staff told us it was a friendly environment to work in, the culture was open, transparent, blame free and non-discriminatory and they enjoyed working there.

Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively.

Leaders actively engaged with patients, staff, and partner organisations to gather feedback and they took meaningful action in response. They demonstrated during the assessment how they made changes for the better wherever they could.

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.

The practice strived to ensure staff could speak up and their voice would be heard. There were systems and policies in place to support staff to whistle blow or to speak with a ‘Freedom to Speak Up Guardian’ if they needed to. We saw evidence of ‘Freedom to Speak Up’ posters with information in staff areas. The practice had appointed representatives from the local medical committee who are external to the practice to the role of the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian.

The practice valued diversity in their workforce. They had an inclusive and fair culture which had improved equality and equity for people who work for them. Policies and procedures to promote diversity and equality were in place. Staff had received training in equality, diversity and inclusion and were aware of supporting people with protected characteristics such as age, gender, religion and disability. There was a zero tolerance to bullying and harassment and leaders were committed to providing an inclusive and supportive working environment.

All of the staff we spoke with reported high levels of job satisfaction. They told us they felt valued and were encouraged to be involved in contributing to the running of the practice.

The practice 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.

The practice had established governance processes and staff could access all required policies and procedures. Managers held regular 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. Staff took patient confidentiality and information security seriously.

The practice acknowledged our feedback on emergency procedures, infection control, medicines optimisation and assessing patient needs and took immediate action to address these issues and mitigate the risk. This included providing updates for staff; undertaking clinical searches and recalling patients; and developing new policies and procedures.

The practice understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for patients. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement. The practice worked with other practices within their primary care network (PCN) and attended meetings where practices shared best practice and quality improvement.

Leaders told us that the practice had recently been rated the second highest referrer to the Pharmacy First scheme in Leicestershire. Pharmacy First is a consultation service which enables patients to be referred into community pharmacy for a minor illness oran urgent repeat medicine supply. The service helps to free up GP appointments for patients who need them most and includes the supply of appropriate medicines for 7 common conditions including earache, sore throat, and urinary tract infections, aiming to address health issues before they get worse.

The practice collected patient feedback regularly via the NHS “Friends and Family Test” and reported on these outcomes each month. On an annual basis, the practice reviewed the National GP Patient Survey results and identified areas for improvement. In addition, the practice had a patient participation group (PPG) with a membership of 7 patients. Staff had discussions with and collated feedback from the PPG to identify improvements for the practice such as the telephone queueing system. Leaders told us they were also exploring ways to increase the membership to the PPG.

The practice had a strong focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement. Staff participated in quality improvement work and used learning from significant events and complaints to continually improve the service they provided. Leaders told us they involved all staff and identified “Champions” in a variety of areas, to engage with patients and drive improvements. For example, there were staff members nominated to be ‘Champions’ for learning disabilities, childhood immunisations, and antibiotics and we were provided with evidence of training that had been provided for these staff to undertake these roles.

The practice participated in the national General Practice Improvement Programme (GPIP), which provides support to GP practicesto explore and implement opportunities to improve productivity, patient outcomes and staff wellbeing. Staff told us as part of this process they had mapped out the ‘patient journey’ with a view to streamlining processes to make it user friendly and accessible for all patients.

The practice was also recognised as a research practice and we were provided with evidence of a review of the practice’s performance outlined in the RDN Level 1 Research Site Initiative Scheme Agreement which demonstrated the practice had achieved the key performance indicators required.

Leaders provided us with evidence of positive feedback they had received from the training of students and resident doctors. We reviewed 26 feedback forms and all respondents were positive about their experience at the practice. People said their training expectations were met; the learning environment was supportive; mentoring and supervision was effective; and there was praise for both clinical and non-clinical staff who were reported as friendly and helpful.