The Mockett’s Wood surgery in St Peter’s has been placed in special measures after being rated as inadequate by the Care Quality Commission.
The measures mean the surgery in Hopeville Avenue could be shut down if it does not make adequate improvements in the next six months.
In a report published this week the surgery was rated inadequate in three areas – safety, effectiveness and leadership – as requires improvement for being responsive and rated good for caring services.
The surgery, which has 9,208 patients on the books, was inspected in July and again in August. Inspectors found that the practice had not answered complaints, identified learning or made improvements to mitigate risks to patients.
It did not have the appropriate equipment and medicines for an emergency; practice staff who had contact with the public had not been appropriately immunised to keep them safe; appropriate checks on staff prior to appointing them were not carried out; the practice had not appropriately assessed, scoped, trained and supervised members of the clinical team and the overall governance arrangements were not consistently effective.
The inspection team was led by a CQC lead inspector and also included a GP specialist advisor and a practice manager specialist advisor.
Inspectors found a number of breaches of health and social care regulations, including the failure to investigate the concerns and provide an explanation to complaints. The report says: “They had not sought clinical advice or considered if other patients may have been placed at risk.”
Inspectors added: “The arrangements for identifying, recording and managing risks, issues and implementing mitigating actions were not operated effectively, in particular in relation to succession planning for staff, the management of fire risk, complaints and safe recruitment of staff.”
The practice has two GPs and a salaried GP partner, six practice nurses, four healthcare assistants and a pharmacist. They are supported by an administrative team.
Chief inspector Dr Rosie Benneyworth said: “I am placing this service in special measures. Services placed in special measures will be inspected again within six months.
“If insufficient improvements have been made such that there remains a rating of inadequate for any population group, key question or overall, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures to begin the process of preventing the provider from operating the service.
“This will lead to cancelling their registration or to varying the terms of their registration within six months if they do not improve. The service will be kept under review and if needed could be escalated to urgent enforcement action.
“Where necessary, another inspection will be conducted within a further six months, and if there is not enough improvement we will move to close the service by adopting our proposal to remove this location or cancel the provider’s registration. Special measures will give people who use the service the reassurance that the care they get should improve.”
The surgery must make improvements to:
- Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients.
- Ensure that any complaint received is investigated and any proportionate action is taken in response to any failure identified by the complaint or investigation
- Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care
The special measures and inadequate grading has promptd an outcry frompatients who say the surgery is outstanding.
Many patients have ctiticised the CQC, with one saying: “What planet do these inspectors live on? The pressure these doctors work under must be enormous but they are always patient and caring.”
Another said: “This is the best surgery I’ve ever been to, I always get seen the same day I call, even just to talk about medication, the staff and doctors have been amazing, I literally cannot fault them at all, their a great team, they go above and beyond.”
