The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Patford House Surgery Partnership in Calne, Wiltshire, inadequate overall and placed it in special measures. Previously it was rated good.
CQC carried out an announced inspection in May to check whether the practice had made the improvements required to comply with warning notices that were served after an inspection in December 2020, and to follow up on further areas of concern identified to CQC.
Following this inspection, Patford House Surgery Partnership was rated inadequate overall and in relation to whether it was responsive and well-led, and requires improvement for being safe, effective, and caring.
CQC’s head of inspection for primary medical services, Neil Cox said:
“We had several concerns when we inspected Patford House Surgery Partnership recently, not least of which, was that the practice had not investigated all complaints received about the service, and it had not ensured that that learning from complaints was shared with staff.
“In addition, some equipment had not been properly maintained and was not suitable for purpose, not all staff were up to date with the necessary training and the practice did not have effective systems in place to ensure that patients who were on high risk medicines were being effectively monitored.
“We have now told the provider they must make improvements in a number of areas, in order to bring the service in line with legal requirements and to keep people safe. The practice has now been put in special measures, which means we will keep it under review, and return to inspect again within six months to check that improvements have been made. If we are not satisfied that the required improvements have been made at that point, we will consider whether we need to take further enforcement action.”
Inspectors found the following:
- The practice could not provide assurances that all patients received effective care and treatment.
- The practice could not be assured that all medical equipment was safe and appropriate for use.
- The monitoring of patients who were prescribed high risk medicines and those affected by medicines alerts, was not effective.
- The processes to ensure significant incidents were raised and investigated appropriately was not always effective.
- Staff had access to training and development. However, the processes to ensure staff remained qualified and competent for their role required improvement.
- The practice collated patient feedback from a variety of sources, However, improvements relating to concerns raised by patients were limited.
- Patient access was not monitored effectively to ensure services remained accessible to all patients as required.
- The practice’s complaints process was not adequate.
- The processes to identify and manage risks relating to fire safety, Legionella and COVID-19, were not effective.
- Improvements in culture of the practice had not been consistent to ensure all staff felt comfortable to raise concerns.
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