Upwey Doctors, from left, Sabu, Rose, Sheela and Zachariah, and Huey, Finu and Kerryn are committed to providing quality care to all patients.
THE hills community received a further health boost when Upwey Doctors received the award of accreditation, demonstrating the quality and safety of the practice.
The practice received the top honour from Australia’s most respected accreditation body, the Australian General Practice Accreditation Limited (AGPAL).
AGPAL chair Dr Richard Choong said the accreditation award showed that the practice made a significant investment in quality on a day-to-day basis from the top down.
“Achieving accreditation is a major achievement for any practice and it is a clear demonstration that Upwey Doctors is seeking to improve their level of service to both patients and the community,” he said.
“Practices seek accreditation because they want to be the best and view this as another step towards excellence.”
The AGPAL accreditation program was developed jointly by AGPAL and various doctors organisations, including the AMA.
It is a voluntary nationalprogram that aims to pro-vide a range of guarantees to patients by accrediting the practice environment. To achieve this endorsement, a practice team works for 12 months to implement the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Standards for General Practices, which is the recognised standard nationally for assessment for general practice.
The standards train staff in areas such as ensuring vaccines are within their use-by date and are stored in the correct temperatures, that the practice equipment is clean and sterile and the practice has emergency care available.
Dr Choong said accreditation is attainable only through cooperation and communication between staff members.
“Everyone at the practice plays a valuable role in working to meet the standards,” he said.
“It gives staff a real sense of pride to work in an accredited practice.”
Upwey Doctors now proudly displays the AGPAL logo for all its patients to see.
“We want to communicate to our patients that their wellbeing is our priority,” practice principal Dr Zachariah said.
“By being accredited, our patients know we are committed to providing quality care that meets the RACGP’s standards.”
The practice is located at 100 Main Street, Upwey, and the phone number for appointments is 9754 7566.
