Chief Inspector of General Practice places Crown Heights Medical Centre, Basingstoke, into special measures

England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice has placed Crown Heights Medical Centre into special measures following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission.

The inspection, which took place in May 2016, found the quality of care provided at the practice to be Inadequate overall.

A full report of the inspection has been published.

Ruth Rankine, CQC Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice in the South said:

“It is important that people who are registered with Crown Heights Medical Centre can rely on getting the high quality care which everyone is entitled to receive from their GP.

“We found significant areas of concern, which is why we are placing the practice into special measures - so opening the way to support from NHS England among others.

“We will continue to monitor this practice and we will inspect again in six months to check whether improvements have been made. I believe that the practice will do what is required for the sake of its patients.”

CQC’s inspection report highlights a number of areas where improvements must be made including:

• Patients were at risk of harm because systems and processes were not implemented in a way to keep them safe.
• Some patients with long term conditions were not supported to effectively manage their health and care needs.
• Infection control procedures were not understood or followed for the use and maintenance of specialist equipment.
• Staff had not all received the relevant pre-employment recruitment checks or received all the appropriate training for their role.
• Governance arrangements including systems for assessing and monitoring risks and the quality of the service provision for patients required improvement.
• The practice was unable to demonstrate and identify if staff had completed appropriate training to deliver effective care and treatment, for example, on safeguarding.
• While the majority of patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect, not all felt cared for, supported and listened to.
• The feedback from patients was not always considered or action taken to make improvements. Complaints were not always reviewed and responded too.

Ends

For further information please contact CQC Regional Engagement Officer Farrah Chandra on 07917 594 574 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.