First GP practice in Buckinghamshire to be rated as Outstanding

The Care Quality Commission has found the quality of care provided by The Hall Practice in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire to be Outstanding following an inspection carried out in April. This is the first GP practice in Buckinghamshire to be rated in this way

Under CQC’s new programme of inspections, all of England’s GP practices are being given a rating according to whether they are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.

Inspectors rated the practice at Hampden Road, Chalfont St Peter, Good for being safe, responsive to people’s needs and well led while rating it outstanding for being caring and effective. A full report of the inspection has been published today.

Ruth Rankine, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice, said:

"We found that The Hall Practice is providing an outstanding service, particularly for a higher than average number of patients living in care and nursing homes including up to 30 younger patients with acquired brain injury or major physical disability.

"The culture of continuous quality improvement and engagement united all staff to ensure good high quality care for patients

"The practice has been using innovative and proactive methods to improve patient outcomes, for example, all patients who are carers get a personal follow up and review each year. The inspection and the data around it suggest that this practice is performing highly - and you can see why."

The report highlights a number of areas of outstanding practice, including:

• A member of the practice staff carried out the role of a carers’ coordinator. They made annual contact with every carer, personally, on the practice register to ensure they were receiving the care and support they required and updated the carers register based on their contact.
• A number of GPs had special interests in obstetrics and gynaecology and dermatology. This meant they could support the care and treatment of patients at the practice which led to lower referral rate to hospitals than other practices.

Dr Geoff Payne, Medical Director, NHS England, said:

“We’re pleased to see an outstanding rating for caring and effective services, leading to an overall outstanding rating for The Hall Practice. We commend the practice staff for their commitment and proactive approach to patient care. Patients are able to access appointments with their named GP and a carer’s coordinator is in post and makes contact with every carer personally. The example set by staff at The Hall Practice is excellent and we hope more GP practices will be recognised for their good work in the future.”

Ends

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