A south east London GP practice has been rated Inadequate overall - despite previous warnings it needed to improve care.
Forest Hill Group Practice in Forest Hill Road, in the London Borough of Southwark, was rated Inadequate for being safe and well-led. It was rated Requires Improvement for being effective and Good for being caring and responsive to people’s needs, following an inspection in June 2017.
At a previous inspection in 2016 Care Quality Commission rated the practice as Requires Improvement. CQC found concerns relating to the management of significant events, medicines and risks associated with staffing and infection control, absence of staff training and appraisal, issues around governance and there was little evidence of quality improvement work being undertaken.
During the most recent inspection CQC found that many of the original issues had not been addressed and further problems had emerged:
The systems and processes used to assess and address risks to patient safety were not always effective.
The practice had completed fire and health and safety risk assessments in June 2017 but had not implemented the actions.
Infection control risks had been assessed but not all had been addressed.
Staff were not chaperoning in accordance with best practice and guidance and there was no evidence of the correct level of safeguarding training for one of the GPs in the practice.
The practice had not completed all necessary recruitment checks for staff.
Inspectors found expired syringes with the practice’s emergency supplies.
Some staff had not completed essential training in accordance with current legislation and guidance including infection control, information governance, fire and basic life support training.
Some patients that inspectors spoke with expressed dissatisfaction with the attitude of reception staff.
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.
The practice should now:
- Advertise translation services in the reception area.
- Improve systems and processes that support the identification of patients with caring responsibilities to enable appropriate support and signposting to be provided.
- Consider ways to improve patient satisfaction with access to appointments and the service provided by the practice’s reception team.
However, inspectors did find results from the national GP patient survey showed patients were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
Information about how to complain was available and inspectors saw improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns. Health promotion leaflets and information on local services were available.
The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on. It was aware of the requirements of the duty of candour.
Professor Ursula Gallagher, CQC Deputy Chief Inspector of GP Practices, said:
“It is disappointing that the overall rating for Forest Hill Group Practice has deteriorated from Requires Improvement to Inadequate overall."
“We have placed the practice into special measures and it 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.”
You can read the latest report in full on our website.
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It is disappointing that the overall rating for Forest Hill Group Practice has deteriorated from Requires Improvement to Inadequate overall
Professor Ursula Gallagher, CQC Deputy Chief Inspector of GP Practices