A BASINGSTOKE GP surgery has been graded as ‘good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an inspection.

Crown Heights Medical Centre, in Alencon Link, in the town centre, was visited by the healthcare watchdog between May 22 and June 5, prompted in part by information shared with the CQC that indicated ‘potential concerns about the responsiveness of the service to meet people’s needs’.

However, inspectors reported that they did not identify any breaches of regulations after reviewing feedback sent directly to the CQC, the results of the practice patient surveys and the national GP patient survey.

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Crown Heights Medical CentreThe CQC said it had received reports of difficulties accessing appointments, but a positive experience with staff.

In a report published online the CQC graded the surgery as ‘good’ in all areas, including ‘responsive’ which was the focus of the recent inspection.

Crown Heights scored 75 out of 100 in this area, with the report saying: “People told us they found staff approachable and responded positively to feedback adjusting the service to meet their individual needs.”

It added that patients reported “being listened to, having confidence and trust in the healthcare professional and being involved in decisions about their care”.

Inspectors also found that staff had improved people’s outcomes and addressed the wider needs of their patients by working with housing, foodbanks, opticians and benefit services.

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“The provider demonstrated a good understanding of the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities. They have reviewed processes, so care is joined-up, flexible and supports choice and continuity,” the report said.

The CQC found that patients felt confident that if they complained, they would be taken seriously, treated compassionately and actions would be taken to address and try to resolve the concern.

A regular newsletter is produced by the practice for patients to know changes in response to feedback, the CQC reported.

It added: “The practice valued their patient participation group as an established means of communicating with patients and understanding the potential impact of changes to how they deliver services.”

The CQC report said that the GP patient survey data regarding access was ‘below the local and national England average’.

However, the practice had reviewed and responded to this and had ‘taken action to improve including introducing targeted services for vulnerable patient groups’.

The CQC said that data from friends and family was ‘positive’ regarding the services and that patient satisfaction rates were ‘improving since changing their clinical triage system’.

Patients benefit from access to translation services and a staff member trained in British Sign Language support, the CQC said.

The report said: “The practice understood the needs of its local population and had developed services in response to those needs.”

It added: “Patients could request an appointment by phone, online and by visiting the practice. The practice told us they monitored demand on their call system and clinical triage system and increased staffing at the busiest times.”

It had improved patient access by employing a clinician led triage system.

A statement from Crown Heights said: "The Crown Heights Medical Centre Partners are pleased that the recent assessment by CQC, of which we were fully supportive, did not identify any breaches of regulations and determined our service is responsive to people’s needs."