England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice has rated Heathway Medical Centre in Dagenham, north London, as Inadequate overall. The practice has been put into special measures, following a Care Quality Commission inspection in May.
Inspectors rated the practice as Inadequate for being safe, effective and well-led. It was rated Requires Improvement for being caring and responsive.
A full report of the inspection, which details inspectors’ findings and highlights the areas where improvements must be made, has been published at www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-2687718289
Areas where the practice, which provides GP care services to approximately 3,800 people living in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, was found to be failing included:
- There were no records of infection control audits, and patient notes were not stored securely.
- Patients said that the appointments system was not working and that they experienced long waiting times to be seen.
- Patients were at risk of harm because systems and processes were not in place to keep them safe.
The practice has been told it must establish effective systems for managing and mitigating risks to the service, for example in relation to infection control.
It must further ensure systems are in place to seek and act on feedback, including complaints from patients and staff for the purpose of evaluating and improving services.
Michele Golden, Head of General Practice Inspection – London, said:
“It is important that the people who are registered at Heathway Medical Centre in Dagenham can rely on getting the high quality care which everyone is entitled to receive from their GP.
“We have now placed the practice into special measures – which means we will inspect again in six months’ time. This will enable the practice to access all the support it needs via NHS England, using the vulnerable practices scheme.”
Patients registered with practices being placed into special measures should be aware that the package of support being offered by NHS England and the Royal College of GPs will ensure that there are no immediate risks to patient safety at these GP practices whilst improvements are being made. These practices will not close.
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