Staff at Haven Health and Howard House GP Surgeries have been praised by the Care Quality Commission, following a recent inspection.

The surgeries were among eight hailed by the watchdog run by the Suffolk Primary Care group, which received 'good' ratings.

CQC inspectors reported they found:

• "There was compassionate, inclusive and effective leadership at all levels."
• "There was strong collaboration, team-working and support across all functions and a common
• focus on improving the quality and sustainability of care and people's experiences."
•  "Leaders at all levels demonstrated the high levels of experience, capacity and capability needed to
• deliver excellent and sustainable care."
•  "There were consistently high levels of constructive engagement with staff and people who use
• services, including all equality groups."

Howard House GP surgery

No regulation breaches were found at any of the eight surgeries, although inspectors noted the provider should continue to monitor and improve systems to prescribe medication, as well as the coding of medical records, while continuing to review its backlog to ensure patients are seen in a timely manner.

Other concerns flagged include monitoring both child immunisation and cervical screenings to ensure as many people as possible make use of them.

Haven Health and Howard House in Felixstowe were among those inspected last September and October.

Inspectors said: "Governance arrangements were proactively reviewed and reflected best practice.

"A systematic approach was taken to work with the other practices within the group, the local primary care network and the provider to improve care outcomes.

"There was a demonstrated commitment to best practice performance and risk management systems and processes. The provider and practice reviewed how they functioned and ensured that staff at all levels had the skills and knowledge to manage those systems and processes effectively.

"Problems were also identified and addressed quickly and openly."

CQC review also determined if services were safe, effective, caring and catered to people's needs.

For these criteria, each practice was rated good.

There are 28 GPs partnered, and around 500 staff total hired by the firm.

It runs nine GPs in total. Cardinal Medical Practice, also in Ipswich, was rated as requires improvement in an inspection in April 2022.

Dr Nick Raynor, the chairman of Suffolk Primary Care said the partnership was thrilled with the results of the inspections, but warned it will not lead to the teams becoming complacent.

He said: "These ratings are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff, and reflect their ongoing commitment to doing their very best for patients and their carers.

"The skills and experience highlighted by the inspectors will be vitally important as we continue to rise to the many challenges currently facing GP practices, and ways to manage increasing demand.

"We will strive for further improvement over the coming months so that we can make sure our patients and their families continue to receive the highest quality care at the right time."