Updated 25 February 2025
We carried out an announced assessment between 13 March and 20 March 2025. Further information was requested after the site visit on 20 March 2025.
Croft Hall Medical Practice is an NHS GP practice located in Torquay and covers an area of high deprivation. (Deprivation covers a broad range of issues and refers to unmet needs caused by a lack of resources of all kinds, not just financial.) There were approximately 7840 people registered with the service at the time of our assessment. We carried out the assessment in response to concerns received. A total of 34 quality statements were assessed, across the safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led key questions.
At this assessment we found there were shortfalls across all key questions and improvements were needed to ensure safety was maintained and people received appropriate care and treatment. We found people were not consistently involved in decisions about their care and treatment.
Staff who worked at the practice were caring and kind and tried to meet people’s needs, but a lack of available appointments and continuity of care meant this could not always happen.
Overarching governance systems were ineffective and did not support the delivery of quality care. The practice did not effectively review and respond to feedback or use this information to improve their systems and processes. The system for risk management was not effective. Assessment of risks to service delivery and peoples’ safety was reactive and focused on short-term issues.
We found breaches of regulations in the following areas: medicines management, prescriptions handling, infection control, health and safety risk assessments and calibration of equipment. Breaches were also identified in recruitment processes, handling of complaints and significant events; and the overarching governance processes.