An improving Practice - Update from The Stamford Surgery

Our Chair, Dr Kathy McLean recently visited the Sheepmarket GP practice in Stamford. She was welcomed by Dr Gavin Cattigan, one of the GP Partners at the practice, Jessica Bawden, Chief Executive of Lakeside Healthcare.

Dr Cattigan gave a presentation which showed how the practice has improved its services for the local community using a range of innovative initiatives.

Lakeside Healthcare is a large GP partnership that provides NHS care for around 170,000 patients across Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and Northamptonshire. It is made up of eight GP practices across 14 sites that are part of their local communities, that includes Sheepmarket and St Mary’s sites in Stamford.

At their last CQC inspection they had moved from Inadequate to Requires Improvement. Since then, they have implemented a number of initiatives to improve the quality of healthcare services.

Digital Triage System Delivers Better Access

Since introducing Anima, which is an NHS-approved digital consultation and triage platform used by GP practices and introduced a total triage system where all requests are reviewed by a GP and triaged to the right person in the practice and appointments offered. They have seen:

An increase in total appointments delivered per thousand patients to over 900. This includes face-to-face, telephone calls, home visits etc. This is almost double the national average.
A reduction in waiting time for people calling the practice from over 12 mins to under eight.
Over 400% increase in patients using the platform
Patient overall satisfaction with the practice has increased from 2025% in 2023 to 65% in 2026

Positive Feedback from Patients and Staff

Kathy also heard from other practice staff as well as representatives of the Patient Participation Group, who praised the changes that had been introduced and led to greater satisfaction for patients.

Photograph of Kathy McLean speaking with Jessica Bawden, Dr Gavin Cattigan and Teri White

Kathy said:

“It is a real testament to the hard work of everyone at the practice to see such great progress. The management team have worked hard and provided good leadership, the practice is a fantastic asset to Stamford. Meeting members of the Patient Participation Group, to hear their views was a highlight.

“They have recently introduced their own phlebotomy service. This makes it easier and more convenient for patients to access blood tests locally. The service is now fully established and delivered in partnership with North West Anglia Trust. Patient feedback has been very positive, with many people highlighting the convenience and improved experience.”

Dr Cattigan said,

“It was a pleasure to welcome Kathy to the practice. We were able to showcase the work we have been doing to improve services for our patients. It was also great to introduce Kathy to our staff and members of the Patient Participation Group, who have supported us throughout our journey.”