Silver End surgery rated 'good' by Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission now rates Silver End surgery good in four of five key areas, including safety, efficiency and management following a planned visit back in April.

The health facility had previously been ordered to make changes following a damning CQC inspection in January 2018 where it was rated ‘requires improvement’ in all areas.

Service provider Virgin Care had only just taken on the surgery months before and vowed to make the necessary changes.

A report published on Monday states enough progress has been made in the past 15 months to see the surgery’s rating increase to good.

Inspectors found GPs at the centre had “skills to deliver high-quality sustainable care”. This was partly because Virgin Care had employed three permanent long term GPs which helped build relationships with patients.

Further improvements highlighted by inspectors were drop-in sessions run each week at the surgery, as well as the increasing range of online appointments.

Despite the positive report, the CQC says the surgery must improve its responsiveness after getting a lower score in the latest patient satisfaction survey compared to last year.

Service manager Pauline Doyle said: “I am very pleased that the inspectors have recognised the serious improvement that we have made at Silver End surgery and that this is having a positive impact on the way patients receive care.

“All of my colleagues at the surgery have been so supportive and enthusiastic about bringing in improvements and this has been a real team effort.

“We still do have improvements to make and are committed to these as we want to provide the best service we can for people living in the community and to be judged as outstanding by inspectors.

A new telephone system is being put in place over the summer which will increase the number of lines into the surgery.

It is hoped this will speed up the appointment booking process for all patients.