Northam increased its community health credentials today when Grey St Surgery received a national award of accreditation, demonstrating its commitment to quality and safety within its practice.

Grey St Surgery received this important recognition from Australian General Practice Accreditation Limited (AGPAL), the leading not-for-profit provider of general practice accreditation services within Australia.

AGPAL Chair, Dr Richard Choong, said accreditation shows that the practice makes a significant investment and commitment to quality on a day-to-day basis, across all levels of the practice team.

“Achieving accreditation is a major achievement for any practice and a clear demonstration that Grey St Surgery is striving to improve their level of care to both patients and the community,” he said.

“Practices seek accreditation because they want to do their best and view this as another step towards excellence in patient care."

To achieve accreditation, a practice team works over a 12-month period to implement the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Standards for general practices. The RACGP Standards provide a recognised national benchmark for general practices and services, and a template for quality care and risk management.

The AGPAL accreditation program supports general practices across the primary healthcare sector to provide a range of minimum expectations for patients surrounding safety and care. The accreditation process involves an independent on-site assessment of the practice’s environment and their processes. Accreditation was developed jointly by AGPAL and primary health organisations and peak bodies, including the Australian Medical Association (AMA).

Areas of focus during an on-site assessment for accreditation include: ensuring vaccines are within their use-by-date and stored at the correct temperatures, that the practice’s equipment is clean and sterile, practice staff are up-to-date with their training, 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 RACGP Standards. It gives staff a real sense of pride to work in an AGPAL accredited practice," added Dr Choong.

Grey St Surgery proudly displays the AGPAL accredited symbol for all their patients to see.