Quality Practice Award
Welcome to the QPA home page. Below is a summary of the
world of QPA. The menu on the left will provide further
details on the QPA process.
What is QPA?
QPA is a quality assurance process
undertaken by practices, which recognises a high standard of
quality patient care delivered by every member of the practice
team.
It was conceived in 1996 by a group of
GPs in NE Scotland who, after undertaking Fellowship by Assessment
(FBA), realised that their achievements would not have been
possible without the support of the practice team. They went on to
develop a scheme based on FBA, with the help of a
multi-disciplinary group, which recognised the commitment of the
entire practice team in providing quality of care for patients and
staff.
As of 1st April 2008 there is now also
mQPA, which is available to practices in Scotland. For more
information on this please see the
mQPA page here.
How does it work?
Each practice working on the QPA is
required to submit a portfolio of written evidence set against 21
sets of criteria. When a practices written evidence is complete, a
full day assessment visit is conducted by a panel of four, which
will comprise a combination of GPs, Nurses, Managers and Lay
Assessors.
How long will the process take?
Practices have 18 months
from the time of application to completion of their
submission. However, submitting a Notice of Intent to Apply (NIA)
binds the practice to the version of criteria valid at that time.
Failure to submit within the timescale might result in the practice
having to
transfer to
the latest version.
Is there any Support?
The QPA handbook contains a step-by-step Users Guide and
applicants will also have access to a central
advisory
structure. Practices will vary in the amount of support they
require.
How long is the award valid for?
The award is valid for 5 years. Practices who wish to be
re-accredited for QPA without losing their QPA status, should begin
work on the appropriate version of the award in time to complete
and be re-awarded prior to the expiry of the initial award.
Why do it?
Practices achieving QPA have found
that the process engenders a real sense of team spirit, pride in
each other's areas of work and an improved understanding of working
together towards a better environment for patients and staff. The
criteria is continually modified and developed further to reflect
the ongoing changes in general practice. Practices who undertake
the assessment are therefore actively encouraged to feed into the
development process.
Version 11 incorporates all of the
indicators of the organisational and patient experience sections of
the revised Quality and Outcomes Framework. It continues to include
the team working and reflective practice criteria of previous
versions.
V11 criteria changes
There are only a few changes between the
criteria in version 10 of QPA and version 11 published in
April 2007.
Version 11 Criteria
Changes (Word doc 30KB)
Please use the menu on the left hand side of
this page to navigate to the subjects of your choice.
Overcoming barriers to QPA
Overcoming
barriers to QPA (for PDF - 68kb)
Further information
Please contact the QPA office relevant to your geographic
location. Links
The
RCGP Quality Practice Award E-bulletin -January
2007 (PDF, 230kb)
Updated April 2008