A GP surgery in Upton upon Severn, Worcestershire, has been named Practice of the Year 2009 at the Management in Practice Awards in Birmingham.
Upton Surgery, which also won the Customer Care award, was judged to have excelled in patient services by offering an array of patient-focused initiatives supporting healthy lifestyles and self-care projects.
The practice won the Customer Care Award, sponsored by Footprint Telecom, for organising and providing a wide range of extra services for its patients.
Initiatives the practice has launched include: a weekly short walks programme led by a practice nurse to support her weight-loss clinics; a referral scheme to the nearby town where 64 patients have started individual activity programme, including exercise programmes and a strength and balance programme for patients at risk of falls; onsite mental-health services and a Case Management Project, providing a multi-agency team offering guidance and support to patients experiencing a crisis due to acute ill-heath.
Such was the success of these initiatives that the hard-working practice went on to win the Practice of the Year Award, sponsored by Wyeth Vaccines, announced at the end of the ceremony on Wednesday (6 October 2009) at the Birmingham NEC. This is the second year that Management in Practice has conducted these Awards, launched last year.
On collecting the Award, Phillipa White, Practice Manager of the Upton Surgery (pictured, centre, with, from left, her colleagues GP Dr Paul Bunyan and Case Manager Jo Dodd) said: “This is for all the people at the surgery who aren’t here today, who are back at the branch, working really hard for all these types of initiatives.”
Written applications from practices across the UK were received by Management in Practice earlier this year, and a panel of expert judges set up for each of the six categories assessed the entries according to agreed criteria. Shortlisted nominees attended the Awards ceremony and lunch on Wednesday, part of the Management in Practice Birmingham Event.
Practice management consultant Fiona Dalziel (pictured on the far right), one of the judges of the Practice of the Year Award, said: “All practices were really put through their paces, so for anyone to have got this far is a huge achievement.
“What we ended up doing to identify the Practice of the Year award was to ask ourselves, which of the practices would we really like to be patients with? All were good, but one [Upton Surgery] came out as superior.”
Phillipa White praised her team for delivering high-quality patient services throughout the year, and described winning the award as the “the icing on the cake”. She added: “Of course, it’s not just us – there’s hundreds and hundreds of unsung hero practice managers and teams doing really good things.”
Paul Earley (pictured second from right) of the award sponsors Wyeth Vaccines praised the achievements of all the nominees.
“This year we’ve seen examples of practices working together under huge pressure because not only have you got the flu vaccines being delivered to patients but you’ve got the still-unknown threat of swine flu, so we’re absolutely delighted to be able to offer sponsorship to this particular award,” he said.
News of the winners in the four other Awards categories will be published tomorrow (Friday 9 October 2009).
Your comments (terms and conditions apply):
“Congratulations. I couldn’t be more delighted, but it is absolutely deserved. I have been aware for years that we are incredibly lucky to have this practice. I am also healthier now than I was five years ago due to their advice, physiotherapy, and nursing care. Thank you” – Chris Page, Gloucestershire
“I was delighted to hear of this award. My wife and I moved to Upton upon Severn about six years ago and have been amazed at the quality of the service at Upton Surgery. We are both in our seventies, but we are so well looked after that we feel fitter and healthier than we did a decade or more ago. If awards make people aware of such practices the more the merrier!” – Name and address withheld
