THE out-of-hours GP service covering west and north-west London, including Ealing, has passed a national quality audit with flying colours.

The service, run by Care UK, a leading independent provider of health and social care services, on behalf of the local NHS received a routine inspection from the Care Quality Commission, which regulates all health and social care services in England.

The inspector passed the centre on all five core issues: are services safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs and well-led? No areas for improvement that must or could be taken were identified.

The report commented: “We found there were effective systems in place to ensure the service could be delivered to the widest range of patients with varying levels of need.

“There was good collaborative working between Care UK and other healthcare and social care agencies, which ensure patients received the best outcomes in the shortest possible time. Patients experienced care that was delivered by dedicated and caring staff.

“People we spoke with said staff displayed a kind and caring attitude, and we observed patients being treated with respect and kindness while their dignity and confidentiality was maintained.

“We saw the provider had taken steps to ensure all staff underwent a thorough and rigorous recruitment and induction process to assure their suitability to care for patients.”

The service provides GP out-of-hours cover for some 1.4 million patients across Hillingdon, Hounslow, Harrow, Ealing and Brent.