England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice has placed a Berkshire Surgery GP practice into special measures following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission.
The Care Quality Commission has found the quality of care at the Easthampstead Surgery in Easthampstead, Berkshire, to be Inadequate. A full report of the inspection has been published today.
The Easthampstead Surgery provides primary medical services to approximately 5,200 patients at their practice.
Under CQC’s programme of inspections, all of England’s GP practices are being given a rating according to whether they are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.
Inspectors rated the practice inadequate for being safe, effective and well led and requiring improvement for being caring and responsive to people’s needs.
Ruth Rankine, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice for the South, said:
“It is important that the people who are registered with the Easthampstead Surgery can rely on getting the high quality care which everyone is entitled to receive from their GP.
“We have 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.”
Dr Geoff Payne, Medical Director at NHS England, said:
“As a result of the CQC rating, Easthampstead Surgery will receive additional support to make improvements in the safety, effectiveness and running of the practice. Planned improvements in systems and processes will help to raise performance.
“Patients reported that practice staff treated them with compassion, dignity and respect and it is clear that practice staff are compassionate. We urge patients to continue to support the practice as we work closely with them and Bracknell and Ascot Clinical Commissioning Group to ensure the action plan developed by the practice is swiftly implemented.”
The report highlights a number of areas where improvements must be made including:
- Risks to patients were inconsistently assessed and managed, including those relating to staffing levels and safeguarding adults
- Staff were not clear about reporting incidents, near misses and concerns and there was no evidence of learning and communication with staff. When incidents and complaints had been identified reviews and investigations were not thorough enough. Patients did not always receive an apology and some incidents had not been identified or escalated.
- The practice were unable to demonstrate staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment
- The majority of patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect. However, not all felt cared for, supported and listened to.
Ends
For further information, please contact John Scott, Regional Engagement Manager on 077898 75809. Journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team here. Please note: the press office 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 about Easthampstead Surgery.