A village medical practice has become one of the few across the country to win national accreditation for high standard patient care.

Addingham Medical Centre, in Main Street, was due to be presented with the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Quality Practice Award (QPA) yesterday.

The Addingham practice, which moved into its long-awaited new £2 million medical centre in August 2009, undertook a project with the Royal College of General Practitioners to gain accreditation.

The aim of the accreditation scheme is to encourage and support practices in delivering the highest quality care to their patients.

Of around 8,700 NHS GP practices in England, only 243 have gained the QPA accreditation. Just one other medical practice of the 85 in the Bradford District has a QPA.

Addingham GP, Dr Adil Suleman, said: “The Quality Practice Award is a quality assurance process undertaken by practices, which recognises a high standard of quality patient care delivered by every member of the practice team. Practices that have successfully completed QPA have found the reflective learning it generates of benefit to team members in their personal learning.

“The quality of the care their patients receive is perceived to be higher and the whole experience provides a deep sense of team and personal pride.”

To achieve the standard, practices which are assessed have to meet a range of criteria set by the Royal College of General Practitioners.

They are assessed on clinical care, communication, continuity of care, health promotion, equipment and minor surgery, practice management, premises, patient issues, prescribing and other aspects of healthcare provision.

Dr Suleman provided funding to build the medical centre, after years of campaigning for up-to-date facilities to replace an ageing surgery in a converted Addingham house.

The campaign for a new medical centre began under previous village GP Dr Eugene Raubitschek.

As well as GP services, the Addingham surgery runs clinics for conditions such as asthma, COPD, diabetes and heart disease. There is also a regular baby clinic, antenatal clinic and a podiatrist visits the surgery every Wednesday.