The Care Quality Commission (CQC), has upgraded the rating of Castle Healthcare Practice in Nottingham from good to outstanding following an inspection in November.
Castle Healthcare Practice, run by a company of the same name, provides general practice and primary care services to over 17,000 people. CQC carried out the inspection as part of its routine monitoring of services.
CQC upgraded the ratings for how safe, caring and well-led the service is from good to outstanding. How effective and responsive the service is have again been rated good.
Andy Brand, CQC deputy director of primary and community care in the midlands, said:
“During our inspection of Castle Healthcare, the service demonstrated its passion and commitment to providing high quality care and treatment that was safe and effective. It achieved this because of the efforts of a committed workforce and strong leadership.
“People were positive about the care they received at Castle Healthcare, and told us staff were caring, approachable and knowledgeable. We found staff kept people safe and treated them with kindness and compassion. They involved people in planning and decisions about their care and treatment, while considering their personal preferences.
“An active patient participation group represented people’s views and provided feedback to leaders. Leaders made positive changes in response to this feedback, which included putting a new phlebotomy (bloods) service in place and people having access to evening and weekend appointments through an extended hours service.
“We saw examples of the service going above and beyond to help people and their local communities. When a person they supported sadly died, the service was committed to supporting their family. Their GP called the family personally, followed by a card from the practice that contained support information.
“It was encouraging to see how well Castle Healthcare worked effectively with partners and ensured there was continuity of care for people when they moved between different services. They worked closely with partners to check on vulnerable people and act on concerns, and also shared best practice with other local practices when they identified relevant information or foresaw potential issues.
“Staff and leaders at Castle Healthcare should be delighted with the findings of our report, which reflects their dedication and excellent services.”
Inspectors found:
- Staff used systems to identify people who were unlikely to attend regular testing, which allowed them to use appointments as opportunities to offer additional services such as vaccinations or screenings.
- Leaders thoroughly investigated and learned from incidents. They effectively shared findings and best practice with staff to improve services and people’s experiences.
- The service’s facilities and equipment were clean, well maintained and aimed to reduce any risks people might face.
- Leaders made sure there were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experiences.
- Staff felt comfortable raising concerns with leaders who were compassionate and understanding. Leaders considered any ideas or suggestions that staff presented.
- The service set up campaigns for initiatives including seasonal vaccination campaigns. These saw staff in different roles work together, as leaders paired clinicians with administrative staff who they didn’t work with regularly. This helped build team spirit and fostered a strong sense of belonging.
- Leaders had appropriate systems in place to manage medicines and respond to any alerts or recalls.