The current system of Practice Accreditation (PA) ended on 31
March 2005. PA has been a successful programme and it has raised
the quality of care and improved teamwork for those practices that
have participated. For many practices it has been the first time
they have undergone any type of assessment of their organisation.
It has prepared practices for the organisational domain of the
Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF). PA was praised in the report
from the Shipman Inquiry.
QOF Review
The new GMS contract QOF review process has introduced routine
visits to assess performance in all participating practices. Many
of the organisational aspects of the QOF are based on the core
elements of PA version 1A.
In order to support quality initiatives in the new contract in
primary care in the future, RCGP Scotland has been commissioned to
train the QOF reviewers for all 15 NHS Boards. Training of
reviewers started in March 2005.
From May 2005 practices will be visited as part of a QOF
review. The principles of this visit have been designed by a
working group within the SEHD and have been informed by the
supporting documents to the General Medical Services (GMS)
contract.
This visit is separate from payment verification which is
carried out by the NHS National Services Scotland - Practitioner
Services Division with all practices subjected to random sampling
for verification purposes.
It is hoped that most of the PA assessors will transfer their
skills to be reviewers for the QOF. The visit will be developmental
and formative in nature and will help practices perform well in the
QOF. RCGP Scotland will be providing the training for QOF reviewers
in Scotland.