Following a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection of the GP Out of Hours team in October, the inspector has published its verdict on the quality of our service.
We are thrilled to announce that we rated 'GOOD' in every category of the very first CQC inspection of our GP Out of Hours service. This achievement is due to the hard work and commitment of staff and partners who together ensure that patients get the very best care when they visit the service.
The categories were:
The service, which operates between the hours of 6.30pm to 8am on weekdays and 24 hours on Bank Holidays and weekends, offers GP-led medical care for Tower Hamlets patients, residents and visitors to the Borough.
Last year, GP Out of Hour dealt with around 30,000 patient contacts, the majority of these being calls offering medical advice (21,000) and about 1,500 being home visits.
Some of the comments published in the CQC inspection report, included:
"The service had good systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When they did happen, the service learned from them and improved their processes."
"Staff involved and treated people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect."
"Patients were able to access care and treatment from the service within an appropriate timescale for their needs."
Speaking about the admirable rating, Joint Chief Executive of GP Care Group, Tracy Cannell, said: "We are delighted that we passed our first CQC inspection with flying colours. Congratulations to everyone involved in the service and thank you for all the hard work that goes into providing such a high standard of care."
Download and read the full Out of Hours CQC Inspection report.
