‘Good’ skin care for patients in Oldham says official health Watchdog report
Dermatology services are officially ‘Good’ in Oldham and the cutting-edge technology used for tele-dermatology has helped patients to be seen even faster, a report published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) says.
The dermatology service is run by HCRG Care Group on behalf of the local NHS. The CQC undertook a detailed review of the skin care services in Oldham and assessed the main five key areas as ‘Good’. These were in Safety, Effectiveness, Caring, Responsiveness and being Well-led.
This means all services provided by HCRG Care Group which have been inspected by the CQC continue to hold either ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ ratings.
The CQC were impressed with how the tele-dermatology service meant “that patients received treatment more quickly via their GP and primary care” and that the [dermatology] service was able to concentrate on seeing patients with more complex or urgent conditions more rapidly.”
During the pandemic the dermatology service offered a tele-dermatology service which enabled GPs to virtually seek advice from dermatology consultants remotely about their patient’s skin conditions.
This virtual service allows GPs to send images of patient’s skin conditions for a thorough assessment by a consultant dermatologist.
CQC inspectors said that “the service had systems to help care for patients in need of additional support or specialist intervention.”
Sarah Lunt who manages the service for HCRG Care Group said: “This is brilliant news for our patients. We are proud to change people’s lives by transforming health and care, and this rating is testament to the innovative work of the team. The technology we use here is an excellent example of best practice, and many other services across the country are also using this innovative approach.
“We have made such a positive difference helping the community in Oldham. Our teams work incredibly hard to provide high quality care to patients and their commitment has not wavered for a second throughout the COVID-19 pandemic – they have demonstrated such professionalism and resilience during the last 20 or so months.”
Each year, staff at the Oldham-based service see more than 16,000 patients. In total, 97% of these patients were classed as ‘complex or urgent condition’ cases, so were seen within four weeks.
