The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has again rated The Village Green Surgery in Wallsend, North Tyneside as outstanding following an inspection in August.
The Village Green Surgery is a GP practice that delivers services to approximately 12,500 people.
This inspection was carried out as part of CQC’s continual checks on the safety and quality of primary and community care services.
Following the inspection, CQC has rated the practice as outstanding for effective, caring and responsive, and rated good for safe and well-led.
Alan Stephenson, CQC deputy director of operations in the north-east, said:
“When we inspected The Village Green Surgery, we found a GP practice that was led by exceptional leaders supported by a dedicated staff team putting people at the heart of everything they did to deliver the best possible care.
“People gave overwhelmingly positive feedback about the care they received, including how easy it was to make appointments, how kind and approachable staff were and how the doctors really listened to people to deliver person-centred care.
“Staff involved people in medication reviews and helped them understand how to manage their condition. People knew what to do and who to contact if their condition didn’t improve or they experienced any unexpected symptoms.
“We were impressed that GPs worked on a continuity of care system, so people had a specified clinician who they saw consistently. This resulted in people having a GP who already knew their story and understood their health needs and any protected factors.
“Staff go above and beyond to ensure people’s needs are met, including the reception team’s use of digital flags to highlight people needing longer appointments or for a translator to be present.
“All staff should be extremely proud of the care they’re providing to people. They clearly work hard to provide an exceptional GP service to the people in their locality and other practices should look to this report to see what they can learn.”
Inspectors found:
- Recent survey results, including from the National GP Patient Survey and the NHS Friends and Family Test, showed people are happy with the service.
- The practice has established strong, collaborative relationships with other healthcare professionals which created improved access to wider support services.
- Staff involved people in their care and treatment, embedded health promotion into care, and supported them to live healthier lives.
- Local care homes spoke positively about the care their residents had received.
- Representatives from the Patient Participation Group (PPG) said the service took concerns seriously and proactively make improvements when needed.
- Managers ensure staff receive training and support to maintain high-quality care to people.
- People are supported to raise concerns and feel staff treat them with compassion and understanding.