Bankhouse Surgery awarded maximum score

The government’s latest quality audit of GP surgeries (QOF – Quality and Outcomes Framework) has resulted in Bankhouse Surgery being awarded the maximum score of 1000 points out of the 1000 possible. This outstanding achievement is despite the standards being dramatically raised, compared to previous years, to avoid high scores being achieved.

This 100% performance follows on from the previous two years' improving performance, from 99.5% in 2005 and 99.9% in 2006, despite the standards having been raised substantially in 2007.

This performance reflects a great deal of hard work by the whole surgery team including doctors, nurses and administrative staff, and reflects Bankhouse Surgery’s determination to offer the highest possible standards of clinical care to its patients.

New care improvement objectives will be introduced by the Department of Health in the coming years, and it is Bankhouse Surgery’s objective to meet and exceed all the objectives and targets proposed.

Our Patient Survey results and what we intend to do about them

2006 /2007 GPAQ patient survey findings and details of the surgery’s responses and plans:

Results showed a high degree of satisfaction with the quality and accessibility of medical services received, as well as with a the personal competencies and abilities of our doctors, their interpersonal skills, communications abilities, and their general quality of care.

Their were four main areas of criticism / dissatisfaction which were highlighted by the survey findings:-

1) Continuity of Care
The fact that Bankhouse Surgery is a leading training practice ensures that many more doctors’ appointments are available than would be typical of other practices of the same size, making it possible to offer same day appointments which most local practices cannot. Training also allows the practice to train its own future partners. Where other practices have difficulty recruiting, and rely on locums, we can choose the best available, and do not need locum doctors. The criticisms are a) that many of the doctors leave just as they are becoming popular and familiar with your case (they can stay for between 4 months and a year), and b) that the senior doctors spend more time with training than is ideal, causing a shortage of appointments for them. It has now been decided that training will be reduced by a third relative to recent levels, and new doctors will no longer be accepted unless they can stay at least six months and preferably a year.

2) Problems Phoning the Surgery
We fully appreciate the difficulties patients face here and we are taking action to improve the situation. We have recruited additional receptionists (see page 4 staff news). Two additional clinical computer workstations and an additional printer have also been installed, and the telephone system has been upgraded with two extra telephones. Together with a realignment of staff roles, we believe these actions will substantially improve the recent situation.

We encourage patients to use the facility available to book appointments and prescriptions via the internet rather than phoning the surgery.

3) Excessive Waiting Times
The complaints of excessive waiting times mainly relate to the 12.00 surgery which absorbs demand over the forecast need. Most surgeries simply deny access once the appointments are full. Whilst by no means ideal, it seems better to have some waiting for this service than to deny access until another day. Nevertheless, we are looking carefully at a variety of possible measures to alleviate this problem.

4) Lack of access to telephone advice
Whilst it would be ideal to offer the facility to phone up and speak to a doctor or nurse at any time, such a facility would be detrimental to the quality of care and experience of those seeing the doctor when phone calls are made, who would be interrupted. The current system allows messages to be left for a doctor or nurse who will respond as appropriate. No better alternative system has yet been found though several have been tried.