East Park Medical Centre - R P Pandya

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 requires improvement. At this assessment, the rating has changed to good.

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 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. Leaders had developed the practice vision, mission and values through a collaborative process that reflected feedback from staff, patients and members of the Patient Participation Group (PPG). Emerging themes were reviewed and considered before revisions were made, with the final document approved by the GP partners. Leaders told us this approach helped ensure the vision, mission and values reflected the needs and aspirations of both the staff and local community. The practice's aims were to provide accessible, respectful and high-quality care. Leaders described the organisation's core values as kindness, compassion, collaboration, support, excellence and accountability.

The practice 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. GP partners worked collaboratively to provide a safe service. They always did so with integrity, openness and honesty. Staff members told us leaders and managers in the practice were approachable and supportive. Staff reported there being a strong sense of teamwork, as they worked collaboratively and recognised the importance of each role in delivering safe, effective, and patient-centred care.

The practice fostered a positive culture where staff felt they could speak up and have their voice heard. Staff told us they felt able to raise concerns and were confident these would be considered and acted upon appropriately. Clear processes were in place to support staff to speak up. The practice also provided opportunities for staff to share feedback. This included an anonymous feedback system, accessible to all staff, and regular open forums held at the end of staff meetings which enabled staff to provide feedback directly to the leadership team in an open and supportive environment. The practice had a Freedom to Speak up policy that informed staff about their Freedom to Speak up Guardians.

The practice valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them. There were policies and procedures to promote equality and diversity. We reviewed staff training and found that all staff had completed their equality and diversity training. Leaders took a flexible approach to supporting staff and made reasonable adjustments where required to help staff fulfil their roles

The practice had established governance processes and leadership structure that were appropriate for their service to deliver quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. However, some areas requiring further oversight were identified, including infection prevention and control and storing of the emergency medicines. The practice was quick to respond to implement the necessary improvements. The practice acted on information about risk, performance and outcomes. For example, the practice had considered succession planning for key staff roles to help ensure continuity of care and the ongoing delivery of services. The practice operated an effective governance framework supported by regular clinical meetings and practice meetings were had and actions were clearly recorded and shared with staff. The use of registers, audits and standing agendas created a structured, repeatable assurance system. Managers met with staff regularly to complete appraisals and performance reviews. Both team and multidisciplinary meetings were held on a regular basis to promote collaborative working and coordinated patient care. Policies and procedures were accessible through a shared electronic system and were reviewed accordingly to remain current and effective. We saw evidence of clinical audits that were used to monitor performance and drive improvements to patient care and outcomes. Staff demonstrated a strong commitment to maintaining patient confidentiality and information security, with appropriate processes in place to protect sensitive information.

The practice clearly understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership to support care provision, enabling services to work seamlessly for patients. Staff and leaders engaged with people, communities and partners to share learning with each other and promote continuous improvement. The practice had good working relationships with other practices within their primary care network. The practice had established a Patient Participation Group (PPG) that acted as a channel for communication between the local community and the practice. The PPG told us they were engaged in discussions about the service and were supportive of initiatives aimed at improving patient experience and outcomes.

The practice had a strong focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation. Leaders were aware of the challenges they faced but made plans to actively address them. Staff feedback told us the practice fostered a culture of openness and collaborative working, where innovation was encouraged. Leaders told us they participated in research such as being part of a cardiovascular study that contributed to safe, effective practice. Initiatives demonstrated an ongoing commitment to improving services across multiple areas, including access, safety, workforce development and internal processes. These examples demonstrated how learning and innovation was embedded into everyday care.