Dr Pritpal Bath Also known as Dr PS Bath

We carried out an announced inspection at Dr Pritpal Bath on 21 July 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as inadequate.

We rated each key question as follows:

Safe - Inadequate

Effective – Requires improvement

Well-led – Inadequate

Following our previous inspection on 18 May 2016, the practice was rated Good overall and good for all key questions.

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Dr Pritpal Bath on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

This inspection was part of our inspection sampling programme for locations currently rated good. We carried out a focused inspection and this included a site visit. We inspected the safe, effective and well-led key questions.

How we carried out the inspection

Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently.

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.

This included;

• Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing
• Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system and discussing findings with the provider
• Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider
• Requesting evidence from the provider
• A short site visit.

Our findings

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

• what we found when we inspected
• information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
• information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as Inadequate overall

We found that:

• The practice systems and processes to keep people safe were not effective.
• Appropriate monitoring of standards of cleanliness and hygiene were not in place.
• There were insufficient systems to assess, monitor and manage risks to patient safety.
• Systems for the appropriate and safe use of medicines, including medicines optimisation were not effective.
• There was no consistent approach towards managing and learning from incidents or responding to safety alerts.
• Patients’ needs were not always assessed, and care and treatment was not consistently delivered in line with care pathways.
• There was limited evidence of monitoring the outcomes of care and treatment.
• The practice was unable to demonstrate that staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their roles.
• The practice did not always organise and deliver services to meet patients’ needs.
• Staff were consistent and proactive in helping patients to live healthier lives.
• People were able to access care and treatment in a timely way.
• Leaders did not have sufficient risk management and governance arrangements to ensure safe, high quality and sustainable care was delivered.
• The practice did not always involve the public, staff and external partners to sustain high quality and sustainable care.

We found breaches of regulations. The provider must:

• Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients.
• Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

The provider should:

• Continue to develop and embed the online practice portal.
• Continue to improve the accurate recording of childhood immunisation uptake.
• Include information about the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman in all complaint final response letters.

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 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.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services