THE Care Quality Commission (CQC) has praised Earnswood Medical Practice in Dunwoody Way following an inspection.

The report, put together by a CQC inspector and specialists in nursing and GPs, rated the practice as ‘good’ in all the five areas it surveyed – safety of services, effectiveness of services, how caring services are, response to people’s needs and how well-led services are.

The report stated: “There were systems in place to reduce risks to patient safety, for example, equipment checks were carried out and there were systems to protect patients from the risks associated with insufficient staffing levels and to prevent the spread of infection.”

It said ‘staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities’ and ‘patient’s needs were delivered following best practice guidelines’.

It also said ‘staff felt supported’ and rated patient care as ‘good’ for every age group from families, children and young people to older people and those who might be vulnerable.

The report said: “Services were planned and delivered to take into account the needs of different patient groups. Since the last inspection of the service a number of improvements had been made to improve patient access.”

The inspection asked for survey forms to be completed, with 115 returned (around 0.7 per cent of the total practice population).

It also showed that 92 per cent of respondents said nurses had given them sufficient time, the same as the national average, while 98 per cent said they had confidence in the last nurse they saw, one per cent above the national average.

When asked about whether their GP was good at explaining tests and treatments, 82 per cent said they were, which is lower than the national average of 86 per cent.

The main area that the report suggested focusing on to improve was in ‘sharing learning from complaints, significant events, MHRA drugs alerts and audits’ to make sure all members of staff are aware of the relevant information.