CQC Report: The state of general practice in England 2014 – 2017
The state of care in general practice 2014 to 2017′ published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), provides a detailed analysis of the quality and safety of general medical practice in England.
Based on inspections by the CQC, the report found that the majority (86%) of general practice services were rated as ‘good’, with 4% rated as ‘outstanding’.
What factors make an ‘outstanding’ general practice?
The report found that practices with the highest ratings showed a clear knowledge of the different needs of their patient groups, and that they also had strong leadership.
These services understood their patients and their needs, and responded by adapting services. Practices that provide high-quality care also demonstrated that they engage their patients proactively by ‘including them in the conversation’ and acting on feedback, complaints and concerns.
General practices with the highest ratings also demonstrate strong leadership, understand everyone’s responsibilities in the practice team and recognise the importance of working as part of their wider local health economies.
Patients willing to share views but need to know how
The CQC report comes after research from Healthwatch England found that the majority of people are interested in sharing their feedback with GPs to improve services but only a minority had done so. The most common reason for this was that patients were unsure how to provide comments and raise concerns.
