England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice has taken a Kent GP practice out of special measures following improvements in the quality of its services.
Orchard House Surgery in Lydd, Kent, had been rated Inadequate during an inspection in July 2016, when the practice was placed into special measures.
During the latest inspection in March 2017, a specialist team of inspectors found that the practice had made a significant number of improvements and the practice is now rated Good overall. The practice was rated as Good for being safe, caring, well-led, responsive to people’s needs and Requires Improvement for being effective.
The full report of the inspection has been published on our website.
After the inspection in July 2016, the practice put an action plan in place to ensure that inspectors found significant improvements when they returned.
Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:
- There was now a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
- Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills and knowledge to deliver effective care and treatment.
- The practice had a clear vision and strategy to deliver high quality care and promote good outcomes for patients. Staff were clear about the vision and their responsibilities in relation to it.
Professor Steve Field, Chief Inspector of General Practice, said:
"It is clear that Orchard House Surgery has made some real improvements since our previous inspection where we identified concerns relating to the safe delivery of services and leadership of the practice."
"The practice is now providing a safe, caring and effective service. I am pleased to announce that the practice will come out of special measures and I congratulate them on the progress that they have made.”
Ruth Rankine, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice for the South of England, said:
“During our recent inspection of Orchard House Surgery we found a number of significant improvements had been made in all areas and that action had been taken to identify, assess and manage risks to patients."
“We are pleased to see that the hard work and strong commitment from all practice staff to deliver improved services has resulted in higher standards of care for their patients. I congratulate them on the concentrated effort this has taken, the practice should be very proud of this achievement.”
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I am pleased to announce that the practice will come out of special measures and I congratulate them on the progress that they have made
Professor Steve Field, Chief Inspector of General Practice