The publication of an external review into access and capacity at Riverside Medical Practice, Musselburgh has been published today. Read the report, and accompanying press release here.
In April 2022, East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership (ELHSCP) announced an external review would take place to assess patient concerns regarding access to care provided by Riverside Medical Practice and associated services in Musselburgh. After 5 months of research, observations, engagement, benchmarking and analysis, a report has been published by the review team today, (Friday 23 September 2022) on their findings, and subsequent recommendations.
The independent review was designed to gather patient feedback and consider how the practice provides access and covered areas, such as triaging and prioritising of patient’s needs and clinical capacity. In addition, the review team was asked to identify opportunities to address these concerns.
Throughout all stages, the Review Team, led by Dr Dorothy Armstrong, used a values based approach where the principles of independence and transparency; dignity and respect; and care and compassion were paramount.
The final report provides a detailed description of the actions and steps taken by the team when conducting their review, as well as a total of seventeen recommendations for Riverside Medical Practice, East Lothian Health & Social Care Partnership and NHS Lothian.
Fiona Wilson Chief Officer for ELHSCP, comments, “We are very grateful to the review team, Riverside Medical Practice, the patient focus groups and indeed everyone that has contributed, or been involved in the review and preparation of the final report.
“We welcome the Review Team’s recommendations and look forward to working with Riverside Medical Practice to collaboratively, put together an action plan. Our priorities are to deliver the best possible outcome for the community; improve access to health services; and instil patient confidence in both the Practice and wider health and social care services available across East Lothian.”
Dr Dorothy Armstrong added, “A key part of the review was listening to the patients of Riverside Medical Practice (RMP). It was both humbling and poignant to hear, first hand, the accounts from patients about their experiences both positive and negative. We are immensely appreciative of the courtesy and commitment from those people who participated in the focus groups online, in person and the on-line survey. Thank you."
"We are equally grateful for the professionalism demonstrated by the staff at RMP and associated services delivered by ELHSCP. We recognise the extraordinary impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and how clinicians and support staff were subject to significant challenges in delivering healthcare for the community."
"We are very encouraged by the progress RMP have already made in adopting some of our early suggestions and feedback. There is more work to be done and we trust this Report offers helpful insights, suggestions, and resources to enable change so the citizens of Musselburgh can experience improved access to healthcare services in the community."
Download the Report