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Quality

Is the practice any good?
As a practice and as individuals we endeavour to maintain high standards in all areas of organisation, service and clinical care.We alwaysappreciate your ideas and suggestions and there is an active patients group.

Within the practice all staff meet regularly to review our standards and services. All feedback whether a formal complaint - not often - or informal feedback is taken seriously. We look at all significant events. Our NHS contract requires us to demonstrate that we achieve a long list of organisational and clinical criteria.

As a training Practice we recieve rigorous inspections by colleagues from the West Midlands Deanery and Keele Medical school reviews the quality of our student teaching. The dispensary has achieved the NHS Quality Dispensing Scheme standards.

Practice organisation - doctors, nurses and staff
The doctors meet weekly to review management and business issues, with a separate weekly meeting dedicated to clinical issues.Doctors and practice nurses regularly review performance in all major chronic disease areas, with regular clinical meetings to discuss protocols and procedures.

The doctors meet the district nurses and health visitors weekly to discuss individual patient care, and monthly educational meetings are held to which an outside speaker is usually invited. Regular meetings of doctors and staff together take place with regard to reception, dispensing and office areas of work. Doctors have personal development plans subject to external peer review. From 2010 doctors will also have to pass re-certification. All staff members haveannual appraisals.

Clinical standards - Quality and Outcomes Framework 2007
Each year the practice is marked against a long list of clinical and organisational standards. For example how well we care for our diabetic patients, how many of our at risk patients received a flu jab, whether our patient notes are summarised etc.The maximum score is 1000. In 2007 we scored 993; we dropped 1.5 points because we close on a Thursday afternoon for teaching and training purposes, 1.4 points for not having a smoking history on sufficient patients and 4 points because we do not administer neuroleptic (specialist psychiatric) drugs.

For a summary of our clinical results which are compared to the local and national averages click on the download Practice Qualityi dicators 2007 on the right >

Patient feedback 1 - Patient Surveys 2007
Patients give us feedback on an annual basis with an annual questionnaire which is comparable with national figures. This is an NHSpostal survey sent to over 300 patients registered with the Surgery and is irrespective of whether you have used the Surgery or not. We publish the results in the newsletter and the results are discussed by patients and doctors at an open meeting of Madeley Practice Patients fund. We also obtain detailed feedback from our in-house patient survey which enquires about the standards of care and service that patients who have used the Surgery have received.

For a summary of some of the results download NHS Patient survey 2007 - summary, and for our own unadulterated report with patient comments download in house Patient Survey 2007 - full report.

Patient feedback2 - changes we have made in response to comments:
We have altered the layout and wording in the letters we send out for spirometry test appointments and review appointments such as those for heart disease. We have written to all of our housebound patients and patients over the age of 80 to confirm whether they consent to us speaking to relatives or carers and whether another person regularly collects their prescriptions. We have updated their next of kin information.

Our carers register has been revised and we have improved the way in which we record information. We have looked at our telephone protocols carefully, though no major changes have been made. We have opened up the appointment optionsavailable for internet booking of doctor appointments, providing the same choice as if you phone or call in person.

Significant Events
A significant event may be a problem that has occured, or a problem that might have occured, in other words a 'near miss'. It might be a clinical issue involving a doctor, or it might be an appointment problem involving reception. Sometimes it's down to an individual, sometimes it arises because of how the practice is organised.

It might be reported by a patient or it could be something that a doctor or member of staff is concerned about. Whatever the event we try to look at what has happened and if where appropriate try to ensure that it doesn't happen again.

Trainers Report
Every few years - it varies considerably - we receive a rigorous two day inspection of the Practice by 2 doctors from the west Midlands Deanery for Postgraduate education and a Practice Manager which looks in depth at practice organisation and teaching standards.

Registrars and staff are interviewed, clinical care and practice organisation is inspected and the doctors have to submit video evidence of their consulting and teaching skills. Recommendations may be made as to any areas where changes need to be made.

NHS Quality Dispensing Scheme
This is hard work. As well as ensuring that our dispensary staff are properly qualified and trained, we have to demonstarte adequate staffing levels,effective risk management and operating procedures for all aspects of work. An in depth inspection by two pharmacists from North Staffordshire Primary Care Trust takes place each year. This year's inspection took place in April 2008.