Northway Medical Centre

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

This service scored 75 (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 providing a safe, responsive and courteous manner to their patients.

Leaders demonstrated a positive, compassionate and listening culture and equality and diversity was actively promoted. The provider demonstrated an understanding of the challenges and evolving needs of the local population. Staff reported a positive experience of working at the practice. They described the culture as professional, friendly, kind and inclusive.

The practice had a realistic strategy and supporting business plans to achieve sustainability. The practice operated as an accredited training practice and the leadership were committed to working collaboratively with their Primary Care Network (PCN) and the local community to educate and achieve positive outcomes for their patient population.

There were systems to ensure compliance with the requirements of the duty of candour and processes were in place for effective communication and shared learning. There was a whistleblowing policy in place and a named freedom to speak up guardian. All staff had completed mandatory training which included equality and diversity.

Staff had access to clinical supervision, learning and development events as well as educational support and all staff had access to online learning systems.

There was an open culture and clear learning within the practice. Regular meetings were held with staff, and the management team encouraged the reporting of incidents to identify ways in which the practice could continually improve.

The service had 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 did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

Staff told us leaders in the practice was approachable and responded to any concerns raised. Staff also 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.

We received 12 staff feedback forms which contained positive feedback demonstrating staff felt listened to and that leaders were visible and approachable.

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 arrangements in place and with staff were aware of how to raise concerns. Those we spoke with also knew how to access the whistleblowing policy.

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.

There were policies and procedures in place for the safe recruitment of staff. Other policies included recruitment, equality and diversity, bullying and harassment and grievances.

All staff had access to regular appraisals, one to ones, coaching and mentoring and revalidation. There was an induction process in place for newly appointed staff and staff told us that they were supported and felt able to ask for advice. Staff told us they were encouraged to develop within their roles and training opportunities were available.

The service had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and effective governance arrangements in place. These were used to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. Leaders acted on information about risk, performance and outcomes and shared this securely and appropriately with relevant partners.

Leaders and managers supported staff effectively, and all staff we spoke with were clear about their individual roles and responsibilities.

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. Staff took patient confidentiality and information security seriously.

The practice carried out regular audits to monitor service provision and improve the quality of services provided. For example, medicine related audits, complaints and significant events.

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

The practice was part of a Primary Care Network (PCN) who met regularly to deliver services to meet patients’ needs and to support care provision and service development.

The practice offered extended access and flu vaccination programmes. Staff had made adjustments and collaborated with local services to further support community healthcare services.

There was an active Patient Participation Group (PPG) in place. We spoke with a member of the group, who told us they met every 6 to 8 weeks, alternating their meetings with the wider Primary Care Network (PCN) PPG. The group worked in partnership with the practice management team and received regular updates about developments within the practice and across the wider community.

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 and contributed to safe, effective practice.

The leadership team held regular meetings to share learning from incidents and complaints and monitor the quality of the services provided.

The clinical team continually reviewed clinical guidelines and carried out regular audits to ensure patients received high quality sustainable care.

The provider worked collaboratively with stakeholders to improve the experience of people using the service and to support the wider needs of the local community.

The practice operated as a training practice. It was registered as a Safe Surgery and held Veteran Accreditation.