Quality Practice Award (QPA)
Increasingly, general practitioners are
working as part of an extended practice-based team. The ability to
work in an effective team can take forward the range and standards
of care that a practice can offer. The College in Scotland
has been instrumental in developing a number of assessment and
educational tools that test and develop a team’s ability to provide
good and excellent levels of care in appropriate environments and
by a range of professional staff.
QPA is a quality assurance process which was developed in
Scotland and launched in 1997 as a UK-wide College initiative.
Through collection of evidence against stretching standards,
general practices are awarded this quality marker. QPA is highly
regarded and indicates a high standard of quality patient care,
which is delivered by every member of the practice team.
QPA is available for practices to undertake throughout the UK.
Enquiries and applications from Scottish practices are dealt with
by the quality team at RCGP Scotland in Edinburgh. Upon successful assessment by a multi-disciplinary team a
plaque, which can be displayed in practice premises, is awarded to
practices and this marks achievement for five years. In addition
the practice is entitled to use the QPA logo on all
stationery.
There are a total of 28 practices working
towards the QPA: 12 Version 9, 13 Version 10 and 3 Version 11
applicants. To date 84 practices have achieved QPA in Scotland with
16 gaining re-accreditation and 100 awards in total.
>> QPA
Website >>
>> Contact for
Scottish Practices >>
Modular Quality Practice Award (mQPA)
In response to requests from a large number of practices who
would like to take part in QPA but feel unable to complete the
entire project in an 18 month timescale. RCGP Scotland has
developed a pilot version “Modular Quality Practice Award” (known
as “mQPA”) which will be offered to all practices in Scotland from
April 2008.
GP practices that embark on this Award will be able to take the
following modules in any order.
- Patient Centred
- Management of illness
- Records
- Special Groups
- The Learning Organisation
- The Practice Team
>> mQPA Website >>
Other UK Quality Initiatives
Quality Team Development (QTD) is a formative quality initiative developed for practices
in England and Wales. It has some similarities to Practice
Accreditation in Northern Ireland.
Primary Care Research Team Assessment
(PCRTA) is an assessment scheme for
primary care research teams, which focuses on individual general
practices and their teams as the unit of assessment. At present it
is not provided in Scotland.