Hockley Farm Medical Practice

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 previous comprehensive assessment, we rated this key question as Requires Improvement. At this assessment, the rating has changed to Good.

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 practice had a clear mission statement: ‘To provide evidence-based, accessible, proactive, high quality, comprehensive healthcare services for our patients that inspires the next generation of clinicians.’

The practice had established a set of values which included applying the duty of candour and being professional and caring.

All 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.

As a GP training practice and a level 4 research practice, leaders had developed a clear culture of innovation, proactive improvement and continuous learning. Staff told us they aimed to remain proactive rather than reactive and used feedback, incidents, audits and data to continually improve services for patients. Leaders told us they wanted staff to feel able to ask, “Is there a better, safer or more efficient way of doing this?”; which supported a culture where continuous improvement is everyone's responsibility.

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 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. The practice had appointed a representative from the local medical committee who was 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 staff we spoke with reported high levels of job satisfaction. They told us 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.

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 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 provided us with data which demonstrated Hockley Farm Medical Practice was currently the highest referrer to the Pharmacy First scheme in the Leicestershire City and University PCN. Pharmacy First is a consultation service which enables patients to be referred into community pharmacy for a minor illness or an 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.

In addition to the Pharmacy First scheme, staff regularly referred patients to the 'Work Well' coach', who also incorporates the 'Health and Wellbeing' coach role. The service supports patients with physical and mental health conditions to improve their wellbeing, make positive lifestyle changes and develop self-management skills, alongside providing personalised employment support for those whose health affects their ability to work.

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. The practice had a patient participation group (PPG) that staff had discussions with and collated feedback to identify improvements. For example, the PPG requested more engagement with the practice notice boards in the waiting area. In response, leaders arranged to give the PPG management of 1 of the notice boards to create patient awareness on different topics each month; for example, autism awareness. Staff were in the process of working with the PPG to devise questions for a patient survey to gain patient feedback on the Rapid Health clinical triage system.

Leaders were passionate about learning, improvement and innovation. The practice had an innovation statement: “We aim to be proactive rather than reactive. We continually look for ways to improve our services, listen to our patients and staff, reduce unnecessary workload and use technology appropriately. Our goal is not simply to work differently, but to work better, creating more time for our staff to provide safe, compassionate and patient-centred care.”

Leaders encouraged all staff to identify opportunities for improvement within the practice. Leaders told us they wanted staff to feel able to ask: “Is there a better, safer or more efficient way of doing this?” and strived to develop a culture where continuous improvement is everyone's responsibility. Staff were recognised for their contributions with learning and innovation through staff awards.

Leaders provided us with examples of innovation which included the implementation of an AI-supported clinical transcription tool, for clinicians. The tool is used to transcribe the consultation conversation and supports clinicians with their clinical documentation. Leaders explained by reducing the need for clinicians to concentrate on manually typing notes during the consultation, this new tool allowed clinicians to give the patient their full attention; listen more carefully; focus on the patient's concerns; have a more natural conversation; better understand the patient's needs; and support the delivery of a more patient-centred consultation.

A second example of innovation leaders provided us with involved the creation of QR-codes as a means of encouraging and collating patient feedback. Posters with the QR-codes were located on each consultation room and patients were encouraged to scan the code and provide feedback after each appointment. Leaders explained the QR-code system made feedback easily accessible; reduced barriers to providing feedback; and helped the practice identify areas for improvement.

Hockley Farm Medical Practice was a training practice for medical students and a research practice. Leaders encouraged learning and career development for all staff. The practice held quarterly protected learning time meetings for all staff and invited guest speakers to provide presentations.