Following an inspection in April, Exmoor Medical Centre in Dulverton, Somerset, is celebrating receiving an outstanding overall rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
This achievement is a testament to the hard work of the whole team at Exmoor Medical Centre and is the first inspection under Symphony Healthcare Service, a subsidiary company wholly owned by Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Neil Cox, CQC’s head of inspection for primary medical services, said:
“When we inspected Exmoor Medical Centre, we found an exceptionally well-run service led by a strong leadership team.
“The new provider Symphony Healthcare Services took over the running of the service at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and immediately set about adapting the service to ensure it could continue to provide safe care to people. As a part of the West Somerset Primary Care Network, a dedicated rural hub was created to continue to support the local farming community and those who were socially isolated.
“Leaders are focused on promoting an environment of continuous learning and innovation, as well as sharing best practice with other providers. The whole team deserves to be congratulated for achieving a rating of outstanding overall, especially given the challenges that all healthcare providers have faced during the last couple of years.”
Inspectors found the following during this inspection:
- The practice was able to demonstrate it had continued to learn, innovate and redesign services to meet new challenges throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The practice championed quality initiatives and took all opportunities for learning. It was committed to engaging with other providers to highlight and share best practice.
- Audit processes were embedded within the practice and used to drive improvements in the service and enable it to respond to the needs of the registered patient population.
- The service planned and managed the discharge or transfer of patients to other services, or into their own home, well and adapted to meet each individual’s circumstances or preferences.
- The practice had a truly holistic approach to assessing, planning and delivering care and treatment to the people who use the service.
- The change process associated with the integration of Symphony Healthcare Services as the new provider was handled sensitively with the support and commitment of the practice team, and without any interruption to continuity at the practice.
- The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm. Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs with staff responding to patients with kindness and respect and involving them in decisions about their care.
Dr Kelsey Boddington, Clinical Lead at Exmoor Medical Centre, responded with: “This recognition and acknowledgement of the high quality services we provide here at Exmoor Medical Centre is truly heart-felt by a team who have continually gone above and beyond for many years. Our Integration with Symphony has strengthened our practice and given us the resilience that has been crucial during a time where there are national recruitment challenges within the NHS. Practice Manager Lindsay Smith and I would like to say a huge Thank You to our team, as well as the wider team within the West Somerset Primary Care Network, for all that they have done and continue to do.”
Managing Director of Symphony Healthcare Services Kerry White added: “This is an amazing accomplishment that truly highlights the team’s hard work and determination to provide the best possible care for our patients. We have all experienced a steep learning curve through the pandemic and I wanted to say congratulations to everyone at Exmoor Medical Centre – I am delighted your hard work has been recognised. Well done!”
The report is published in full on the CQC website.
For more information contact Symphony Healthcare services on SHS.AdminTeam@YDH.NHS.UK
tel : 01935 383166
Categorised in: Trust news and events
This post was written by Communications Team
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