CQC inspectors place Southampton GP practice into special measures

Published: 21 October 2016 Page last updated: 12 May 2022
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England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice has placed Bursledon Surgery, Southampton in Hampshire into Special Measures following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission in June 2016.

Inspectors rated the service as Inadequate for being safe, effective, responsive to people’s needs and well-led and Requires Improvement for being caring.

A full report of this inspection has been published today.

Ruth Rankine, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice CQC’s South region said:

 “We were not assured that the leadership was able to deliver high quality care which everyone is entitled to receive from their GP practice.

“Patients were at risk of harm because systems currently in place were not embedded well enough to keep them safe. For example, the practice was unable to demonstrate whether staff had the knowledge, skills and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.

“For this and other areas of concern we are placing the practice into special measures - so opening the way for the practice to receive support from NHS England among others.

“We will continue to monitor this practice and we will inspect again in six months to check whether improvements have been made. I am hopeful that the practice will do what is required to improve but if we find that the service remains inadequate, we will consider taking further action.”

Key findings from inspectors included:

  • There was no clear leadership structure in place. A practice manager had recently left and there were no clear plans to fill this role, or if the practice manager’s duties would be allocated to others.
  • Members of staff were not clear about how to report incidents, near misses and concerns and there was no evidence of learning and communication with staff.
  • Staff had not received adequate training relevant to their roles. Identified training gaps included, how to safeguard children and vulnerable adults from abuse, and how to provide basic life support.
  • The practice did not carry out all appropriate recruitment checks on staff prior to employment.
  • The practice did not have appropriate processes in place for the safe management of medicines.

Ends

For further information please contact CQC Regional Engagement Officer Farrah Chandra on 07917 594 574 or, for media enquiries, call the press office on 020 7448 9401 during office hours.

Journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team here. (Please note: the duty press officer is unable to advise members of the public on health or social care matters). For general enquiries, please call 03000 61 61 61.

About the Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England.

We make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and we encourage care services to improve.

We monitor, inspect and regulate services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety and we publish what we find to help people choose care.