A Chadwell Heath GP practice that looks after more than 6,800 patients in this area of north-east London, has been rated as Inadequate overall by the Care Quality Commission and placed in special measures.
Dr Hamilton-Smith And Partners, based at Chadwell Heath Health Centre, Romford, in the London Borough of Havering, was rated Inadequate for being safe, effective and well-led. It was rated Requires Improvement for being caring and responsive after the inspection in June 2017.
Previously CQC inspected this practice in May and June 2016 and rated the practice as Requires Improvement overall. The re-inspection in June 2017 was a comprehensive follow up and showed that the practice had failed to act on CQC’s previous concerns and inspectors identified further areas of concern.
CQC inspectors found:
- The practice did not have a significant event/incident policy available on the day of inspection and staff we spoke with told us they would access the policy via the shared drive. When asked to access the policy, staff, including the practice manager were not able to do so.
- Non-clinical staff had not completed training in safeguarding children.
- Electrical equipment was last tested in 2013.
- The practice could not demonstrate that lessons were learned from individual concerns and complaints and also from analysis of trends and that action was taken to improve the quality of care.
The practice must now:
- 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.
Areas where the practice should make improvements include:
- Review its complaints procedure ensuring it is up to date and accessible.
- Improve the system in place to identify carers so that they can receive appropriate support.
- Improve communication with other health and social care professionals to understand and meet the range and complexity of patients’ needs and to assess and plan ongoing care and treatment
- Improve patients’ and their carers’ awareness of the translation/interpreting service.
- Review ways in which communication with patients that have difficulty hearing can be improved.
Professor Ursula Gallagher, CQC Deputy Chief Inspector of GP Practices, said:
“Dr Hamilton-Smith And Partners will be kept under review and if needed could be escalated to urgent enforcement action. Where necessary, another inspection will be conducted within six months, and if there is not enough improvement CQC will move to close the service. Special measures will give people who use the service the reassurance that the care they get should improve.
“However, we did note that there were some positives to come out of the inspection. The practice had good facilities and was equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. It offered extended hours for working patients who could not attend during normal opening hours.”
You can read the report in full on our website.
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