A GP practice in Barnet, north London, has, once again, been rated as Inadequate by the Care Quality Commission following an inspection in July 2017.
Cherry Tree Surgery, which sits on the border of the London boroughs of Barnet and Haringey has a patient list of 3,300, was rated Inadequate overall. It was rated Inadequate for being safe, effective, responsive and well-led. It was rated Requires Improvement for being caring.
This follow-up inspection was carried out after the practice had been suspended for six months and was then re-opened with a local practice acting as caretaker and placed in special measures. The purpose of the re-inspection was to assess whether sufficient improvements had been made to ensure that patients were receiving safe and effective care
The inspection did not find the necessary improvement and CQC’s key findings included:
The practice had no vulnerable adults or safeguarding children register and not all staff members knew where to access the safeguarding policy.
There were no systems to act on and mitigate risks associated with patient safety alerts. There had been no audits undertaken since the last inspection.
The process for prescribing repeat medicines did not always include a review of high risk medicines. Emergency medicines did not include ceftriaxone - this is used for patients who are allergic to penicillin.
The practice did not use an interpreting service for patients who did not have English as a first language.
There was no practice website, and online services such as appointment booking and prescription requests were not available.
There was no evidence of appraisals or personal development plans.
The practice had identified none of its patients as carers.
The practice must now:
- Ensure there is an effective system for identifying, receiving, recording, handling and responding to complaints.
- Ensure patients are protected from abuse and improper treatment.
- Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients.
- Ensure staff are properly trained.
In addition the practice should now ensure that all patients are treated with dignity and respect. It should also maintain appropriate standards of hygiene for premises and equipment.
However, the practice had a recently formed patient participation group and was in the process of gathering patient feedback. All electrical and clinical equipment had been tested and calibrated to ensure that it was fit for purpose and in good working order. There were systems in place to ensure the regular monitoring of the defibrillator and oxygen in the practice.
Professor Ursula Gallagher, CQC Deputy Chief Inspector of GP Practices, said:
“It is very disappointing that despite the additional support received this practice remains Inadequate. Whilst some improvements had been made we did not find the significant, sustainable changes required to provide patients with the care they deserve."
“We are in urgent discussions with the provider and others about the future, but in the meantime the service will be kept under close review and if needed could be escalated to urgent enforcement action. Another inspection will be conducted within six months, and if there is not enough improvement we will move to close the service by adopting our proposal to remove this location or cancel the provider’s registration.”
You can read the full report on our website.
Ends
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It is very disappointing that despite the additional support received this practice remains Inadequate
Professor Ursula Gallagher, CQC Deputy Chief Inspector of GP Practices