14 February 2012
Putting Quality at the Heart of Patient Care
Over 150 practices have signed up to the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Practice Accreditation award programme since its launch in early 2011. Those enrolled have begun a process which will mark them out as a forward-thinking and progressive practice.
Much more than a mark of quality assurance and compliance, Practice Accreditation helps GP practices enhance their organisational systems and procedures, such as risk assessment and processes for notifying patients of staff changes.
The RCGP Practice Accreditation standards reflect key organisational and administrative aspects of primary care and have been designed to involve the whole practice team. Practice accreditation has been developed with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Following a consultation, the Department of Health agreed to postpone the registration of most primary medical services with the CQC, most of which are GP practices. Registration must now occur by April 2013.
The CQC has also announced that this postponement will allow time for practices to engage in quality and accreditation schemes which may be used by primary medical service providers as evidence of their compliance with the CQC essential standards.
The RCGP’s Practice Accreditation has been highlighted as a scheme which may be used in this way. Practices are able to use any evidence they have to demonstrate compliance, and those practices that have participated in the RCGP’s Practice Accreditation will be able to state with confidence that they comply with the essential standards.
Practice teams that successfully complete the programme will be able to display the RCGP’s Practice Accreditation logo on their stationery, and receive a certificate demonstrating to their patients a commitment to continuous improvement and maintenance of robust, safe systems and procedures.
The award is open to all practices in England, and provides practices of all sizes with a manageable, straightforward process based on online assessment. Practices enrolling on the programme can call on the dedicated RCGP Accreditation Support team, and an online interactive web tool has been developed by the College to assist practices.
Professor Nigel Sparrow, RCGP lead for Practice Accreditation said: “Practices that enrol in the Practice Accreditation programme are making a commitment to continuous development of patient-centred care. The programme has been designed to provide immediate improvements for patients.
“It will be a benchmark of quality, assuring patients that their practice is committed to the highest standards of care.”
Further information
RCGP Press office – 020 3188 7574/7575/7576
Out of hours: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk
Notes
The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 44,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.