East Lynne 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 the service’s leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care and promoted an open and fair culture. This was a focused assessment, which meant we did not assess all quality statements. Our rating is determined from the findings of both this assessment and our previous assessment(s). At our last assessment, we rated this key question as outstanding and this remains unchanged due to the focused nature of this assessment. However, updated quality statement scores have been issued where relevant.

This service scored 93 (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 very clear shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality, human rights, diversity, inclusion and engagement. Staff and leaders demonstrated an exceptional understanding of the challenges and the needs of people and their communities.The practice demonstrated a positive and compassionate listening culture that focused on learning and development.

Staff spoken with were aware of the practice vision, which was based on providing safe, professional, innovative patient-centred care, with positive outcomes. The practice strategy was kept under review and leaders monitored and reviewed progress against the delivery of this. The service was aware of local challenges which affected their service, such as being situated within a community with the highest level of deprivation. The practice worked with partner agencies to address these challenges. For example, the practice worked pro-actively to help ensure annual reviews were available to autistic people and people with a learning disability, offering review appointments every other Saturday and in patients own homes, where agreed. Additionally, stake-holder partners sent information to CQC detailing how the practice were involved in processes which prevented long term hospital stays for patients with tissue wounds by providing more support in the community. Leaders told us that the practice were aware of the impact on children’s’ mental health within their locality and had provided a counselling service, available 4 days each week, for children aged 4 years to 17 years and 11 months across the primary care network. A dedicated room was available at the practice for this purpose. Additionally, there was a children’s mental health nurse who worked across the primary care network offering a telephone triage service each morning daily, and face to face sessions 3 afternoons a week. More than 40 pieces of positive information about the practice were sent to CQC during the inspection. A number of these were from staff members who shared that the culture at the practice was supportive and collaborative. Staff members referenced a well-run, friendly practice, with an open-culture, where the GP partners were always accessible and both innovations to improve patient outcomes and patient-centred care were fundamental. Staff members spoke of a well-integrated and supportive team and of being proud to work for the practice. A number of care homes provided positive feedback on the service they received from the practice. For example, they spoke of having a good working relationship with the practice, where there was excellent communication, responsiveness and a commitment from the practice to ensure residents received the care and support they required. Additionally, care home managers and staff spoke of the benefit of the weekly ward round for a consistent approach and referenced the practice as being well-co-ordinated, reliable and committed to patient well-being. 1 care home did express occasional difficulty getting a response from the practice and a need to chase monthly prescriptions to ensure they are on time, however, did state that the practice were person-centred, responsive and listened to residents and staff at the home. Patients who provided feedback spoke of a friendly, efficient, thorough and caring staff team and a practice where appointments were available, where there was ease of access with excellent care provided by compassionate clinicians who listened, answered questions and were available when needed. Patients spoke of being so happy to be registered at the practice and very lucky to be registered there.

We did not look at Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

We did not look at Freedom to speak up during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

We did not look at Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

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.

All staff we spoke with were clear on their individual roles and responsibilities. Leaders proactively supported staff and regularly met with them to complete appraisals and performance reviews. The practice had established governance processes in relation to the quality statements we reviewed during this assessment, which were appropriate for their service. Additionally, they had implemented the use of a medical artificial intelligence system to transcribe clinical notes, leaving the clinician free to focus on communication with the patient, and an artificial intelligence platform providing citation backed clinical evidence within the medical workflow system, to answer questions raised or provide information and guidance as required. Staff could access all required policies and procedures, which were kept up to date and reflected latest guidance. Leaders held regular meetings with staff, during which they discussed emerging risks and potential improvements to the service. Leaders clearly recorded any actions that arose from these meetings and shared these with staff. Staff took confidentiality and information security seriously, which included verifying people’s identity during remote consultations. Staff submitted data and notifications to external agencies as required.

We did not look at Partnerships and communities during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

We did not look at Learning, improvement and innovation during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.