The Village Medical Centre rated Good by CQC

Village Medical Centre, Littleborough

The Village Medical Centre in Littleborough has been rated Good in all areas by the healthcare watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

12 months on from the initial inspection GP Care Services Ltd have turned this practice around from being placed in special measures to being rated as Good.

An inspection on 29 September 2017 of The Village Medical Centre (VMC) showed the practice has being recognised as making significant improvements in providing safe and effective services across all areas. In the report, publish on 9 October 2017 inspectors rated the service as Good in all five domains - safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led.

This was a comprehensive inspection under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in which the healthcare watchdog have ratings of outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate.

GP Care Services Ltd acquired The Village Medical Centre in January 2017 after the first CQC inspection had taken place in September 2016 rating the practice then as inadequate with serious concerns and the VMC was put into special measures. A further inspection took place in June 2017 and the practice was taken out of special measures but still required improvement in two areas.

England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice said, “This is a focused follow-up inspection of The Village Medical Centre for areas within the key questions safe and effective. We found the practice to be good in providing safe and effective services. Overall the practice is now rated as Good. The practice is also rated as ‘good’ for its services to all population groups.

The practice provided us with an action plan detailing how they were going to make the required improvements.”

Gail Whitehead, Chief Officer of GP Care Services Ltd said: “I am delighted the practice is now rated Good overall, this is a testament to the hard work of the staff and recognises the significant improvements made to the quality of care provided.

We are working hard on the next phase of improvements to bring the rest of the clinical areas up to date and refurbishing the reception area; creating a sustainable living space outside the practice and refurbishing the car park for its patients. With continued time and effort invested by GP Care we will develop and strengthen the practice.”

A full report of the inspection has been published on the CQC, Village Medical Centre and GP Care Services Ltd websites.