General Practice News
We want to collaborate with GP surgeries and patients to highlight things that make a difference. We hope other surgeries and patients will share their experiences with us… Together, we can find out what works well and consider how these experiences can have a wider impact on general practice across South Tees.
Congratulations to Prospect Surgery, Middlesbrough
We would like to share the achievements of Prospect Surgery in Middlesbrough.
Practice Manager, Jayne Henderson and Medical Secretary / Reception Supervisor, Carla Stone, explained how devastated they were after a CQC visit in July 2021, when they were put into special measures. Jayne said:
“We felt under immense pressure during the pandemic period but were determined to turn things around for our patients. We wanted to dispel any doubts locally about our conscientiousness and capability to improve.”
Following a period of intense and rapid change, another CQC inspection in March 2022, revealed the practice had moved up two measures from ‘Inadequate’ to ‘Good’. An amazing achievement in such a short time!
Jayne Henderson, Practice Manager said:
“We worked extremely hard and are proud of our achievements. We are not stopping here though… We are ambitious about continued improvement. We contacted Healthwatch because we believe by working in collaboration with our patients and partners, we can provide an even better service.”
How they got there:
Prospect Surgery shared the changes with us that moved them from the “inadequate” to “good” rating:
- They reviewed their policies and procedures and staffing structure. The surgery now has dedicated, role specific, specialist trained, staff members responsible for each core area, including patient safety and repeat prescription processes.
- Their recruitment drive for admin and reception staff posts had a focus on front line ‘customer service’ skills.
“We are now a Dementia Friendly Practice, have done Suicide Awareness training and IRIS training, for Domestic Abuse".
- They employed locum staff to create the additional capacity needed to:
- Fully train new staff, provide specialist training in our new role responsibility areas and undertake additional training:
- To work alongside our staff team to improve our figures for screening and immunisations:
“We have reduced our DNA’s and increased our figures by contacting people the day before their appointments.”
- Reached out to other organisations, including Healthwatch, as part of a continued improvement strategy to grow the service we offer our patients.
- Prioritised patient participation and communication by creating a new group, a Facebook page, and updated website:
“We wanted to keep our patients informed of what is happening at the practice and to ask for their opinion which we value highly.”
Healthwatch South Tees would like to extend our CONGRATULATIONS to Prospect Surgery, Middlesbrough, for their outstanding achievements and thank them for engaging with us.
01642 210220
