Health inspectors have lavished praise on a GP surgery in a village outside Norwich after a comprehensive inspection.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated Heathgate Medical Practice, based in Poringland, as 'outstanding' - following a visit in January.
Inspectors were particularly impressed with:
- The open and transparent approach to safety.
- The responsiveness to patients' needs.
- The skills of the staff.
Heathgate Medical Practice provides services to around 8,800 patients, along with its branch surgery in Rockland St Mary.
It has seen a 7.5pc increase in patient numbers in the past ten years.
Despite this the CQC reported 95pc of patients found it easy to get through to the surgery by telephone, compared to the South Norfolk average of 70pc and national average of 73pc.
The practice used a text message appointment reminder service for those patients who had given their mobile telephone numbers.
Among the outstanding areas of practice highlighted by the CQC was a monitoring service for patients with eating disorders, a weighing room for parents to weigh their babies, and staff being dementia friendly and having completed deaf awareness training.
In addition, the practice made weekly visits to the local care homes to see patients with acute needs to discuss care plans.
'Each patient had a proactive care plan at the homes which was updated regularly,' the CQC inspectors said in their report.
Inspectors also carried out advance care planning for patients with dementia, and had a system in place to follow up patients who had attended A&E when they may have been experiencing poor mental health.
Garry Whiting, managing partner at the surgery, said: 'The partners and staff at the practice are delighted with the outcome of our recent CQC inspection.
'The outstanding rating reflects the care the whole team looks to provide to our patient population in challenging times within the NHS.
'The report highlights a number of strengths in the service we provide and identifies areas for us to develop further.
'I am proud to be part of a team that works hard to deliver the appropriate care and services for our patients.
'They are a loyal, hard-working group of people who deliver the level of care I would like my own family to receive from the NHS.
'The report highlights the engaging group of patients registered with the practice, who work with us to manage their health in partnership with our clinical team - and have been active in being critical friends via our strong patient participation group.'
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here