During an assessment under our new approach
Date of Assessment: 30 July 2025 to 8 August 2025.
Adelaide Surgery is a GP practice that delivers services to approximately 15,243 patients under a contract held with NHS England. The practice has a main site at Elizabeth Street, Blackpool, and 2 branch surgeries at Gorton Street and Kentmere Drive, also in Blackpool. The National General Practice Profiles states that 93% of patients are White, 4% Asian, and 3% Black, Mixed or Other. Information published by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the 1st decile (1 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others. This assessment considers the demographics of the people using the service, the context the service was working within and how this impacted service delivery. Where relevant, further commentary is provided in the quality statements section of this report.
SAFE: The service did not have a good learning culture. Although people could raise complaints they were not thoroughly investigated. People were not always protected and kept safe. Staff did not always understand or manage risks. The facilities and equipment mainly met the needs of people, but were not always clean, with risks not being mitigated. Staff training and appraisals were not carried out in a way to ensure high-quality care. Staff did not manage medicines well, in particular around authorising nurses to administer medicines and the security of prescriptions.
EFFECTIVE: Systems did not ensure that staff were up to date with, or followed, national guidance. There was no formal clinical supervision or effective appraisal system to ensure care and treatment was being delivered in line with guidelines. Cancer screening and childhood vaccination rates were below targets. However, staff usually involved those important to people and took decisions in people’s best interests where they did not have capacity.
CARING: The service did not support staff wellbeing. People’s immediate needs were not always assessed. People were usually treated with kindness and compassion, but there were some issues with the privacy of patients. People had choice in their care and treatment. National GP Patient Survey results were in line with the averages in this area.
RESPONSIVE: Complaints were not effectively or consistently managed; there was no clear guidance for staff to follow. There was not always equity in the way people were treated. People usually received fair and equal care and treatment. National GP Patient Survey results were in line with the averages in this area.
WELL-LED: Leaders at all levels did not fully understand the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support. They did not show they had the skills, knowledge, or experience to lead effectively. Staff did not feel supported to give feedback and did not feel they were treated fairly. The practice did not have clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. There was not a culture of continuous improvement.
This was the first inspection to this service following a change in their registered location address in 2022. The provider, Adelaide Surgery, has been registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) since April 2013.
We found breaches of regulation in relation to safe care and treatment, good governance and fit and proper persons employed.
This service is being placed in special measures. The purpose of special measures is to ensure that services providing inadequate care make significant improvements. Special measures provide a framework within which we use our enforcement powers in response to inadequate care and provide a timeframe within which providers must improve the quality of the care they provide.