England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice has rated a Knowsley GP surgery as Inadequate and placed the practice into special measures following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
A specialist team of inspectors rated Bluebell Lane Medical Practice, operated by Dr Peter Ayegba, Knowsley, Liverpool as Inadequate for providing services that were safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs and well led.
Under CQC’s new programme of inspections, all of England’s GP practices are being inspected and given a rating. Overall, Dr Peter Ayegba’s practice has been rated as Inadequate and placed in special measures. The service was also rated inadequate for the services provided to all population groups.
The practice was inspected in January 2016 by an inspection team which was led by a CQC inspector and included a CQC pharmacist inspector, a GP and practice manager as specialist advisors, and an expert by experience.
Inspectors noted that there was a lack of clarity over leadership at the practice and staff were unsure on who the safeguarding lead was at the service, the practice did not have reliable systems in place to safeguard vulnerable children and adults. Inspectors received comments from patients that raised concerns over access to appointments and the attitude of some staff, as well as issues with prescriptions. There was no evidence that the practice was recording verbal complaints and little or no learning was demonstrated from reviewing concerns raised by patients or practice audits. Some staff had not received a full induction as the practice did not employ robust recruitment procedures and whilst staff received basic training they were not supported with further support and development opportunities.
A full report of this inspection has been published.
Sue McMillan, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice said:
“It is important that the people who are registered at the Dr Peter Ayegba’s practice can rely on getting the high quality care which everyone is entitled to receive from their GP.
“Whilst some people spoke positively about the practice, we received comments that were a cause for concern particularly about access to appointments and problems with prescriptions not being received in a timely manner. Action must be taken to address the wider concerns we identified so that patients receive safe, high-quality primary care.
“I do not believe that the practice is likely to resolve its challenges without external support. This is why we are placing the practice into special measures.
“After a period of six months we will inspect again to check whether sufficient improvements have been made. If we find that the service provided by this practice remains inadequate, we will consider taking steps to cancel its registration with CQC.”
Patients registered with the practices being placed into special measures should be aware that the package of support being offered by NHS England and the Royal College of GPs will ensure that there are no immediate risks to patient safety at these GP practices whilst improvements are being made.
Ends
For further information please contact CQC Regional Communications Officer Mark Humphreys on 0191 233 3519 or 07881656012.
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Find out more
Read our reports on Dr Peter Ayegba.