England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice has placed a GP practice in Slough into special measures following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission.
A specialist team of inspectors has given The Orchard Surgery in Willow Parade, High Street Langley, Slough an overall rating of Inadequate and the practice has been placed into special measures.
Under CQC’s new programme of inspections, led by Professor Steve Field, Chief Inspector of General Practice, all of England’s GP practices are being inspected and given a rating.
The Orchard Surgery was inspected in May by a CQC team which included a CQC inspector and a GP specialist adviser.
A full report of this inspection has been published on the CQC website today.
Ruth Rankine, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice said:
“The way in which the service was provided by The Orchard Surgery failed to meet the fundamental aspects of good health care that people have the right to expect. There are significant issues which should be resolved with support through the special measures regime."
"We will re-inspect the practice within six months to check whether sufficient improvements have been made. If we find that the service provided by this practice remains inadequate, we will consider further enforcement action."
Geoff Payne, Medical Director, NHS England, said:
“We would like to reassure patients that their safety is our top priority.
The CQC rating will help ensure The Orchard Surgery receives additional support to help make improvements in the running of the practice. Langley Health Centre is already working closely with the practice to help make changes quickly and improvements can be seen in medicines management, the temperature at which vaccines have been kept, and staff training."
“Effective leadership is important and will make a difference to patients and their experience, for example, by ensuring better access to appointments. We urge patients to continue to support the practice as we work closely with them and the Slough Clinical Commissioning Group to ensure an action plan is developed and implemented.”
The Care Quality Commission has identified areas for improvement, which include ensuring:
- all staff have received the training they required to undertake their roles effectively.
- appropriate infection control systems are in place, in line with national guidelines.
- the practice implement a process to review significant events and disseminate learning to practice staff so similar issues do not reoccur.
Ends
For further information please contact CQC Regional Engagement Manager John Scott on 07789 875809 or, for media enquiries, call the press office on 020 7448 9401 during office hours. Journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team here (Please note: the duty press officer is unable to advise members of the public on health or social care matters). For general enquiries, please call 03000 61 61 61.
Find out more
Read our reports on The Orchard Surgery.