England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice has placed a GP practice at Richmond in London into special measures following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission.
A specialist team of inspectors rated Deanhill Surgery in Deanhill Road, south west London as Inadequate for being safe, effective, and well led, but Good for being caring.
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.
Deanhill GP Practice was inspected in October 2014 by an inspection team led by a CQC Lead Inspector, with a GP specialist advisor, and a practice manager. A full report of the inspection has been published today.
Inspectors found that patients were at risk of harm because systems and processes were not in place to keep them safe. There was no clear leadership structure and staff did not feel supported by senior managers who rarely attended the surgery.
The Care Quality Commission has identified five areas for improvement, including:
- There must be appropriate systems, governance and leadership in place to monitor the quality of the service being provided.
- Ensure that there is full Disclosure and Barring Checks, for all staff.
- That there is full training in child protection and safeguarding vulnerable adults.
- The practice must ensure it maintains appropriate standards of cleanliness and hygiene.
- All clinical and administrative staff must be properly trained, supervised and appraised.
Ruth Rankine, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice, said:
“It is important that all the people who are registered with Deanhill Surgery can rely on getting the high quality care which everyone is entitled to receive from their GP.
“While patients told us they were treated with compassion and dignity, we found numerous issues in relation to safety, with no adequate systems to monitor and respond to risks.
“We were told that one management team were responsible for running two practices, but they rarely attended Deanhill Surgery. There was a distinct lack of oversight. We found that staff were not being supported to do their jobs, there was little involvement from senior managers in the day-to-day running of the practice.
“We have found significant areas of concern, which is why we are placing the practice into special measures – and so opening the way to support from NHS England.
“In the meantime we will continue to work closely with NHS England and the Richmond Clinical Commissioning Group to make sure that all the patients at Deanhill Practice receive the care that they deserve.”
Ends
The CQC press office is available on 020 7448 9401 during office hours or out of hours on 07789 876508. For general enquiries, call 03000 61 61 61.
Find out more
Read our reports about Deanhill Surgery, Richmond.
We found that staff were not being supported to do their jobs, there was little involvement from senior managers in the day-to-day running of the practice.
Ruth Rankine, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice