An East Dulwich GP surgery has been moved out of special measures and rated as ‘good’ overall by the health watchdog.
Forest Hill Group Practice was rated ‘good’ for being safe, caring, responsive and well-led by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) at its most recent inspection in February, although it was rated ‘requires improvement’ for being effective.
Previously it was ‘inadequate’. The practice had also improved its leadership and management to ensure that improvements made were embedded and sustained. The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided.
It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence-based guidelines and now had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen.
When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes. Staff treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.
However, there are areas where the practice should make improvements such as work to monitor and improve access to routine appointments and to monitor and improve telephone access, to improve the care of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and fragility fractures, to increase the uptake of childhood immunisations, and to improve systems that support patients with caring responsibilities
Acting Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice Michele Golden said: “It is always encouraging when a provider improves to the extent that it is taken out of special measures and is rated ‘good’.
“There is still improvement in care that can be achieved at the Forest Hill Group Practice and I hope the good work there might lead to an even better rating in the future.”
The report in full on the CQC website: http://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-544424476