Sapphire Medical Clinics – an award-winning medical cannabis provider with clinics throughout the country – has been awarded the highest rating in its recent Care Quality Commission report.
Sapphire Medical, which became the first CQC-registered medical cannabis clinic in the UK in 2019, received an ‘Outstanding’ rating in Leadership and a ‘Good’ rating overall in its recent CQC report, making it the highest-rated medical cannabis clinic in the UK. This is the first time an ‘Outstanding’ rating has been awarded in the medical cannabis sector.
Included in the CQC report are the outstanding initiatives that have been achieved by the team at Sapphire Medical Clinics, with particular reference to high-quality person-centred care, international cross collaborations, bespoke technology solutions and proactive new approaches to patient care.
The report notes that “the leadership, governance and culture was used to drive and improve the delivery of high-quality person-centred care.”
The inspector also noted: “The service was focused on the needs of the patients” and “feedback about the practice was extremely positive from patients and peers. The clinic had received two awards for best medical clinic from service users and the industry.”
Dr Mikael Sodergren, the Managing Director of Sapphire Medical Clinics, commented on the CQC report, “we are delighted that the CQC recognises our consistent focus on patient safety and excellence in delivery of care across the whole service.
“As the first CQC-registered clinic to prescribe medical cannabis, we are committed to setting the highest possible standard in all areas. It is a great testament to the team that the feedback was exclusively positive with no areas identified for improvement.”
Dr Daniel Couch, Medical Lead at the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis, also commented: “We congratulate Sapphire Medical Clinics on this extremely positive CQC inspection report. Ensuring safe, high-quality and regulated access for patients in this sector is essential, as well as the focus on collecting Real World Evidence.
“Innovations to improve the patient experience is essential to foster high-quality healthcare and Sapphire are clearly setting the standards in the rapidly growing medical cannabis [sector].”
Keasha Johnson, a Sapphire Medical patient with chronic primary pain, stated: “It is fantastic to read such a positive report from the CQC on Sapphire Medical Clinics and it came as no surprise to me as a service user… For patients living with chronic conditions, I recommend this outstanding clinic.”
