Hartlepool and Stockton Health GP federation’s 7 Day service and Footsteps Teen Health service has been rated as outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after their recent inspections.
The federation is responsible for the running of a number of local services in Stockton and Hartlepool, the membership includes every Doctor’s surgery in these areas offering services to 300,000 patients from 32 practices.
The 7 Day service across Tennant Street Medical Centre, Chadwick and Woodbridge received overall outstanding in services being effective, well-led and responsive. The 7 Day service offers access to 945 appointments every week with local doctors, nurses and other health professionals from 6:30pm to 8pm Monday to Friday, and provides a service from 10am-1pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
The report said: “We rated the effectiveness and responsiveness of services as outstanding as there was a truly holistic approach to assessing, planning and delivering care and treatment to all people who used the service. People could access appointments and services in a way and at a time that suits them.
“We rated the services well-led as outstanding because the provider had a highly developed ethos of patient and staff wellbeing underpinned with a clear strategic focus for the development of excellence.
“Staff at all levels were considered valued members of the team.”
Inspectors found patients spoke highly of the services and staff: “Patients said they had been treated with the utmost care and the staff and service had been faultless.”
“Feedback from patients who used the service, those close to them and external stakeholders was continually positive about the way staff cared for patients.”
Staffed by local doctors and proud to have never used an agency, the federation has been developed by a number of local GPs and exists to service the local population and strengthen general practice.
Footsteps Teen Health is a young person’s health centre designed for young people, by young people with the aim to provide a One Stop Shop to cater for a variety of young people’s needs aged between 11-19 within a confidential setting with a strong focus on holistic care. CQC rated Footsteps as outstanding in the service being effective, caring, well led and responsive.
Patients of Footsteps said: “that they felt listened to and supported by staff and had enough time during consultations to make informed decisions about the choice of treatment available to them.”
“The staff went the extra mile and their care and support was exceeded their expectations.”
The CQC team said: “We rated the service caring as outstanding as people were truly respected and valued as individuals and were empowered as partners in their care, practically and emotionally, by an exceptional and distinctive service.
The services responsiveness was rated outstanding by the CQC team, they said: “There were innovative approaches to providing integrated person-centred pathways of care that involved other service providers.
“The service had identified a gap in provision for the services in the local area. The approach to assessing, planning and delivering care and treatment to all people who use the service was truly holistic.
“There was a strong, visible person centred culture. We saw that staff were highly motivated and inspired to offer care that was kind and promoted people’s dignity.”
Fiona Adamson, Hartlepool and Stockton Health CEO said: “There are so many things to be proud of in the report – too many to mention! But as a board we were delighted that staff were proud of the organisation as a place to work and spoke highly of the culture. We are grateful to our fantastic team for everything they do to care for local people.”
