Albert Road Surgery, which is part of South Tyneside Health Collaboration, was visited by CQC over a three-day period in July.
Following the inspection, the practice was awarded a good rating, retaining its previous status.
The results reflected that the Surgery had recently shown significant improvement in respondents to the GP patient survey who said how easy it was to get through to someone at the practice on the phone. The practice has also seen an improvement in respondents who felt their overall experience of making an appointment was positive
The CQC measure GP Practices against 5 areas to assess if services are Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. As part of the inspection staff interviews were conducted, clinical searches were completed and reviews of records were carried out as well as a site visit, to assess the practice against these areas.
The CQC concluded that the practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm, there were comprehensive systems in place to keep patients safe, which considered current best practice.
Findings also showed projects and audits had been carried out regularly with positive outcomes for patients and the practice had effective systems in place that ensured patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
Other key areas highlighted as good were the way complaints and significant events were dealt with in accordance with the practice policy and were discussed to help improve practice; staff involved patients in decisions about their care; the leadership governance and culture at the practice promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care and staff were very positive about working for the organisation.
Tara Burrell, Chief Executive Officer at South Tyneside Health Collaboration, said: “It comes as no surprise that due to the hard work of the practice staff that they have attained a good rating from the CQC. We are tremendously proud of the practice and are delighted that they have been recognised for delivering exceptional patient care.”
