Olive 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 last assessment, we rated this key question as inadequate. Since then, the service has made significant improvements across a range of areas. Leaders have introduced regular meetings with all staff, ensured that staff receive annual appraisals, and have fostered a culture in which leaders are visible, approachable, and supportive. These changes have strengthened staff engagement, communication, and oversight within the service. As a result of these improvements, the rating for this key question 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 service had a shared vision, strategy and culture, which was kept under review. 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.

Staff told us they had access to policies and procedures and were notified of any updates following reviews. The practice was aware of potential demographic challenges and the projected increase in the local population and was working to address future challenges.
 

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 they felt supported and that all leaders in the practice were 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 delivery of primary care services within the local area.
 

The service fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Staff told us they were aware of the process for speaking up and raising concerns and would feel comfortable doing so. The practice had established Freedom to Speak up arrangements with the practice manager being the internal point of contact and an external point of contact was in place in line with other practices in the primary care network.

The service valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them. Policies and procedures to promote diversity and equality were in place along with staff training. Adjustments had been made to ensure staff were valued. Leaders we spoke with described adjustments that had been made to accommodate a member of staff request.

At our last assessment there were gaps in systems and processes to ensure effective governance, management and sustainability of the service. At this assessment, improvements had been made.

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.

Leaders and managers supported staff, and all staff we spoke with were clear on their individual roles and responsibilities. Managers met with staff regularly to complete appraisals and performance reviews. The provider had established governance processes that were appropriate for their service and there was a business continuity plan in place that all staff were aware how to access.

Systems for identifying, capturing and managing risks, complaints and significant events were effective. Staff could access all required policies and procedures. Managers held regular practice meetings with staff, during which they discussed clinical concerns, significant events, complaints and emerging risks. Managers clearly recorded any actions arising from these meetings and ensured they shared these with staff along with outcomes for learning. Staff took patient confidentiality and information security seriously.
 

The service understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement. The service had an active Patient Participation Group (PPG) and evidenced minutes from those meetings

The provider worked with other practices within their primary care network to offer extended access, and vaccination programmes. The practice reviewed external sources of feedback such as the National Patient Survey and the NHS Friends and Family Test and had implemented changes to the service to address any results that fell below national and local averages.
 

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. They actively contributed to safe, effective practice and research.

Processes were in place to ensure that learning was shared when there were incidents and complaints. We saw significant events were recorded and actioned appropriately as per the provider’s own policy.

The practice had a system of oversight and audit of clinical consultations, record keeping and prescribing for advanced care practitioners. Regular staff meetings took place and contained detail of attendees and agenda topics, including learning and this was shared with staff.

The practice had a quality improvement plan to help drive improvements in services; this focused on the appointment system and the introduction of AI receptionist to help address telephone access issues. All staff were encouraged to put forward and test out new ways of working.