Shropdoc Rated Outstanding by the CQC

The service provided by Shropdoc, which celebrates its 18th anniversary this year, has received an excellent report from the Care Quality Commission.

Shropdoc provides urgent services when GP surgeries are closed to patients in Shropshire Telford and Wrekin and Powys. The service underwent a comprehensive inspection by the Quality Care Commission (CQC) in March this year which looked at five key areas – safety and effectiveness and whether the service is caring, well led and responsive. Shropdoc has received “shadow” ratings of “outstanding” in all five areas.

Dr Gill Clements, medical director of Shropdoc, said she was delighted with the findings. She said: “We are extremely pleased that we have excelled in each of the areas of the inspection. The continued success of the organisation is down to our hard working and dedicated staff and we thank them for all of their efforts.”

Included in the summary of the report, which was published on May 28, was praise for the “effective care to a wide range of patient groups with differing levels of need, often with limited information available to clinicians” and the “good collaborative working between the provider and other healthcare and social care agencies to help ensure patients received the best outcomes in the shortest possible time.”

The CQC also spoke to patients and carers who used Shropdoc services. They said “they were happy with the care received and were treated with dignity and in a sensitive manner.” CQC also noted that Shropdoc were in regular contact with patients and patient groups in order to gather feedback and continually improve the quality of the service.

The report described an open and transparent culture within Shropdoc. Dr Clements added “It is extremely important for us to provide an environment whereby all our staff feel able to report concerns and that their opinions count. This is how we keep patients safe and the staff valued.”

A full national programme of inspections and ratings of all the out of hours services including Shropdoc is expected in the late Autumn.

The full report is available on the CQC website www.cqc.org.uk under Shropshire Doctors Co-Operative. You can also download the report here….CQC Report May 2014