More female leaders at outstanding practices, suggests Field
GP practices led by women may be providing better care to patients, the chief inspector of general practice has suggested.
Professor Steve Field said he did not have figures but that it was his ‘hunch’ that more of the practices that were rated at the CQC’s top standard post-inspection were led by ‘good women clinical leaders’.
Speaking at the National Association of Primary Care’s Best Practice conference in Birmingham, Professor Field said the CQC was more focused on highlighting good practice than poor standards, listing a range of common denominators amid the ’70-plus’ outstanding practices inspectors have identified to date.
He said these included good leadership, a healthy learning culture, working with professionals in other practices and providing ’safe, effective and high-quality care’.
He added: ‘We haven’t got figures, but my hunch is that more of these practices that are outstanding have very good women leaders. Women clinical leaders, who provide something different.’
He highlighted ’a particular practice in Leicester run by two very, very caring, dynamic women that are really connected into the community’, which he said was ‘the best practice I’ve ever been into’ and almost ‘had him in tears’ giving feedback at the end of inspection.
The practice’s strengths included working closely within the homeless community and listening to patients, he said.
He added that practices that do really well have good communication with patients and the public, mentioning that even though it is now in the GP contract, ’some practices still don’t have patient participation groups’.
By contrast, the outstanding practices were closely entrenched in the community, ‘going that extra mile’, including in the evenings and at weekends.
However, he added: ‘Unfortunately we are seeing worse inadequate care than I had imagined.’
He said this included practices not monitoring their vaccine fridge temperature or giving immunisations without access to adrenaline in case of an adverse reaction.
It comes as Professor Field told Pulse in an exclusive interview this month that he wishes to relieve GPs of the experience that CQC inspection is a burden.
However, the CQC has come under intense criticism from the RCGP and GPC for for highlighting poor standards and for saddling practices with too much bureaucracy, while yesterday CQC chief executive David Behan admitted the CQC itself is ‘not an outstanding organisation’.
Read Pulse’s Big Interview with Professor Steve Field here
Readers' comments (12)
Anonymous | GP registrar21 Oct 2015 4:31pm
'A hunch'.
Usual CQC level of evidence then. This lot are actually becoming quite funny. The lack of self reflection and insight is wonderful.
It's quite hard to make an organisation this bad but Steve Field has achieved it. Chapeau!
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Anonymous | GP Partner21 Oct 2015 5:01pm
Handsome thinks he'll get the female vote:)
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Anonymous | Sessional/Locum GP21 Oct 2015 5:18pm
He beggars belief !
I know more than one a particular practice run by two very, very caring, dynamic MEN too that are really connected into the community, they play Rugby and prop up a few bars...they are really empathic and have been known to wear a skirt especially at Christmas parties... they cry too at Weddings... God helps us !
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Anonymous | Salaried GP21 Oct 2015 8:23pm
next cqc criteria - are you male ? why ? better patient care demands you change your sex. next we will have some prof from NICE saying patients should sue their GP if they are not the right sex.
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Anonymous | GP registrar21 Oct 2015 8:39pm
Hang on to your hats, our dear friend Jeremy is giving closing speech at same conference tomorrow.
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Anonymous | Sessional/Locum GP22 Oct 2015 9:11am
How can you take these comments seriously
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Anonymous | Salaried GP22 Oct 2015 10:27am
All the above comments are true.
This man should resign before he makes even more of a fool of himself!
I find it hard to believe he was once a real doctor doing proper useful work.
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simon sherwood | GP Partner22 Oct 2015 11:41am
well theres certainly no competent male leading the CQC. Is this what his brilliant hunch refers to?
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Anonymous | GP Partner22 Oct 2015 2:11pm
He should dress in drag and pretend to be a woman,I have a hunch this will still make the CQC the overiding mess it is but at least we can have a laugh.
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Vinci Ho | GP Partner22 Oct 2015 3:56pm
The first principal is that you must not fool yourself- and you are the easiest person to fool
Richard Feyman
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