The Sussex University Health Centre has been given a good rating by official inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
They inspected the Health Centre at Sussex University’s Falmer campus in October where Dr Alice Boyd leads a team of four GP (general practitioner) partners and a salaried GP. The practice also includes seven nurses, a phlebotomist, a practice manager, and reception and admin staff.
The vast majority of the 18,000 patients are students. The CQC report, published last week, said: “Overall the practice is rated as good.”
It also said: “There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
“Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
“Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence-based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
“Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
“Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
“Patients said they were able to make an appointment with a GP and there was continuity of care, with a popular urgent appointments system available the same day.
“The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
“There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
“The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.
“The practice worked regularly with the university student support unit to care for students who required extra support and care.
“Alcohol screening was completed for all new registrations and offered on a regular basis to all patients.
“The practice had a care protocol for supporting patients with drug problems and referred them to the local substance misuse support service.
“The GPs and nursing team provided nurture and support to patients and guided them in making decisions about their health during the first time away from the family home when they might feel isolated from parental guidance.”
The CQC added: “The area where the provider should make improvement is (to) establish a system to monitor the overall trends in significant events to help prevent them from happening in the future.”
