General Practice

Overview

Running a primary care business is now more complex than it has ever been before. In the case of General Practitioners’ clinics and practices, this is in part due to the need to achieve CQC registration and meet ongoing compliance requirements.

Time is precious and the last thing doctors and specialists want is to get caught up in the messy and time-consuming business of researching, writing and reviewing policies and procedures for CQC compliance. Even when a practice lead hands this process over to the practice manager it just shifts the problem to someone else who may be equally time-poor.

A number of features and benefits enable the processes that support compliance to be efficiently and effectively carried out, allowing doctors and clinic managers to devote their time to more service-user-centric activities.

QCS Compliance Centre provides the policies and procedures needed for each key area of managing a busy general practice. This enables you to operate and manage your surgery within the regulations.

QCS Compliance Centre is written and maintained by compliance experts with experience in specific areas including clinics and general practice. QCS provides updates which ensure your compliance keeps in step with changes to CQC and DoH guidance or legislative instruments and that procedures reflect best practices. In an era of increasing bureaucracy and red tape, QCS strives to make compliance activity quicker, smarter and simpler.

It covers the 8 key ‘pillars’ of  Clinical Governance; Staff Management, Public and Patient Involvement, Risk Management,  Clinical Effectiveness, Education and Training, Information Management (and IT), Audit and Clinical Governance Policies.

Overview

The QCS GP Quality Assurance Module contains policies and procedures for areas of practice which support the delivery of high-quality medical services. This module covers Quality Assurance of Communications, Administration, Human Resources, Patient Involvement, Clinical Governance and elements of Risk Management. The module helps you to achieve a high standard of practice management and assure the high-quality care that patients expect. This module also contains tools to measure and audit the quality of care and assess many aspects of Corporate, Human and Clinical Governance in line with CQC standards.

It’s a fact that every medical practice will be periodically inspected by the regulator. However, there is no cause for concern. The QCS GP Quality Assurance Module provides the confidence that comes from thorough preparation. The aim of the Mock Inspection Toolkit is to identify any shortcomings in the services that your practice provides. As with all quality assurance evaluations, it is essential to be unbiased in your assessment and work through the process in full. The Registered Manager should complete Mock Inspections on a regular basis to track progress and identify where improvements may be required. The practical workbooks and suggestions in the QCS Mock Inspection Toolkit enable you to run through practice inspections, gauge your performance level and set yourself goals for improvement.

The QCS GP Quality Assurance Module helps you meet regulatory requirements, prevent CQC interventions and provide the high-quality medical care appreciated by patients.

Overview

On 1^st April 2013, it became a requirement for all General Medical Practices to register with the Care Quality Commission. This makes it an offence under criminal law to operate an unregistered medical practice. For many doctors and practice managers registration may seem a difficult and time-consuming task. In part this is due to a ‘culture shock factor’; few will have had close-up exposure to such stringent regulatory control before. To help single-handed practitioners and new partnerships with the CQC registration process, we have formulated a Registration Module. This provides you with the core set of CQC-compliant policies and procedures that are needed during the initial stage.

This group of policies form the foundation of how your practice is run and enables you to confidently complete the CQC registration process. You will probably want to expand this set of core policies and procedures to achieve `Gold Standard` compliance; however, this can be attained as your workload permits. Most of the hard work has been done and all the necessary areas to register successfully are covered in the core set.

Overview

Management of all aspects of health and safety (H&S) is essential in Primary Medical Care settings. Incidents occur in all environments and the health of patients and staff may be put at risk by failure to adopt a serious approach to health and safety. It is essential to implement robust H&S policies in order to meet the standards required both by CQC and the law. The QCS Health and Safety Module is comprehensive and kept up to date with regulatory changes and best practices. It meets a `Gold Standard` for Quality Assurance in this area.

The Health and Safety module enables you to:

• Consider the real risks present within a healthcare practice.
• Implement an incident reporting system.
• Own a library of policies that enable the practice to meet CQC requirements.

Overview

The health of patients and staff may be compromised by failing to implement the right systems and policies. Consequently, it is important to manage all aspects of infection control and adopt an approach that exceeds acceptable minimum standards of safety. The QCS Infection Control Module is fully maintained to ensure it is up to date and in step with regulatory change and adaptations to best practices. This involves cleaning procedures and personal protection policies and procedures.

Shining some further light on this area, the Department of Health issued ‘Decontamination of reusable medical devices in the primary, secondary and tertiary care sectors (NHS and Independent providers) – 2007 clarification and policy summary’. This states local decontamination should meet the appropriate “essential requirements” of the Medical Devices Regulations 2002. The implication is medical practices should ensure that their policies give rise to the production and use of sterilized instruments for use with patients.

Overview

The QCS Care and Treatment module is to enable all members of the team to provide best-practice medical care in an easy-to-use and understandable format. A well-managed consultation is the starting point of person-centred medical care and QCS provides you with the structure to achieve this.

Follow the guidance relating to care and treatment and be more confident in care and compliance.

Overview

The QCS Medical Clinical Governance Module contains policies and procedures for areas of practice which support safe, effective and open medical services. This module covers relevant elements of Risk Management, Patient Involvement and Clinically Effective practice; it helps de-mystify a subject that many practitioners find onerous and complicated.  Part of the inspection process will involve seeking evidence that Clinical Governance is an everyday part of Primary Medical Care, and this module will help you practise in line with CQC standards.

Overview

Maintenance is actually an element of CQC standards in Outcomes 10 and 11, with an expectation that all equipment is installed and maintained according to the manufacturer`s guidelines. The QCS Maintenance Module will provide all the Policies and Procedures to assure compliance.

Good maintenance practices are often overlooked in Primary Medical care. However, maintenance is a key aspect of providing uninterrupted care in a safe and pleasant environment.  Good maintenance procedures contribute to a sound Health and Safety ethos in any business. However, in healthcare, it is more important in protecting both patients and staff from risk, either from equipment or the fabric of the building. It is also an essential aspect of providing continued care with the constant availability of appropriate equipment.

Overview

The success of the practice is dependent upon its staff. In General Medical Practice there are issues of confidentiality and the need for a caring approach to patients and their problems, so recruiting and retaining good staff and then managing positive relationships is crucial. The QCS HR package will help with establishing and maintaining a skill mix of care and clinical ability as well as tracking training requirements.

HR (Human Resources) is a really important aspect of General Practice Management, but one which can be a minefield for any business. It is hard work and time-consuming to keep up with legislative changes but the QCS HR Module will do this for you, helping you to avoid conflict and dispute.

Overview

The Care Quality Commission places great emphasis on the Safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults in the care of professionals. Early identification of risks can help children, young people and vulnerable adults get the care and support they need to be healthy, safe and happy, and to achieve their potential. You should be aware of the use of frameworks for assessing children and young people’s needs, along with the work of Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards and Child Protection Committees. The QCS Safeguarding package provides you with the policies, procedures and information to meet legislation.