Quality Practice Award
The Quality Practice
Award (QPA) is a criterion-based quality accreditation
process undertaken by Primary Health Care Teams across the United
Kingdom. The purpose of the award is to improve patient care by
encouraging and supporting practices to deliver the very highest
quality care to their patients. The Quality Practice
Award recognises the commitment of the entire team,
including the attached staff, in providing high quality care for
patients within a learning and adaptive environment.
QPA is the highest attainable award available
from the college, it requires more in the way of assessment of
patient experience, it has a large clinical component
and asks the contributing team members to demonstrate reflective
learning. All of the QPA criteria must be met to achieve the
award.
The Accreditation Journey
Each practice working on the Quality
Practice Award is required to submit a portfolio of
written evidence set against a number of criteria covered in six
modules over an 18 month period. When a practice’s 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.
The evolution of QPA has seen the development
of a modularised version which allows an alternative route for
practices to undertake a more manageable route to the
award.
The Award
- The highest RCGP quality award
attainable
- Allocation of dedicated QPA advisor team
for support and advice throughout the process
- Confers the right to display the RCGP
Quality Practice Award logo and plaque as a stamp of quality
assurance for five years
-
Recognises the commitment of the entire
Primary Health Care Team
- Has a significant clinical
element
- Offers a practice visit with peer
assessment and developmental ideas in a detailed report
Accreditation Benefits
- QPA Practices 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.
- Practices that have successfully
completed QPA have found the reflective learning it generates of
benefit to team members in their personal learning with cross over
to revalidation and PREP.
- Ensures GP practices have robust
systems and procedures to demonstrate compliance with CQC
registration requirements
- The criteria are
annually modified and developed to reflect the
on-going changes in general practice.
- Improves patient care by
encouraging and supporting practices to deliver the highest quality
care to their patients.
For further information about QPA
click here or to speak with our
dedicated RCGP Quality Practice Award Project
Administrator, Claire Godley: Tel: +44 (0) 131 260 6821or email
qpa@rcgp.org.uk
Practice Accreditation
The College has developed two quality
initiatives, Practice Accreditation (PA) and
Quality Practice Award (QPA). Both awards aim to
help practices improve their quality of care towards patients.
For more information on PA please visit: http://www.rcgp-practiceaccreditation.org.uk/