England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice has placed a Reading GP practice into special measures following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission.
The Care Quality Commission has found the quality of care at Eldon Road Surgery in Eldon Road, Reading, Berkshire, to be Inadequate following an inspection carried out in January 2016. A full report of the inspection has been published today.
Eldon Road Surgery provides primary medical services to approximately 2,300 patients in the locality
Under CQC’s new 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 good for caring, requiring improvement being responsive to the needs of people and inadequate for being safe, effective and well led.
Ruth Rankine, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice for the South, said:
“It is important that the people who are registered with Eldon Road Surgery can rely on getting the high quality care which everyone is entitled to receive from their GP.
"Although the patients we met told us they were treated with dignity and respect, we also found that care and treatment was not always delivered in line with best practice.
“We know that Eldon Road Surgery has acknowledged the areas where action must be taken. 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 am hopeful that the practice will do what is required for the sake of its patients, but if we find that the service remains inadequate, we will consider taking further action.”
Jan Fowler, Nursing Director, NHS England, South Central, said:
“The CQC report for Eldon Road Surgery rates the practice as ‘inadequate’ for a number of areas although the practice has been awarded a ‘good’ rating for the care they give to patients.
"However, there are several areas where improvements need to be made in the leadership of the practice and some of the systems and processes that are in place.
“We are working together with South Reading Clinical Commissioning Group to support the practice to develop and implement an action plan so that they can make improvements quickly.
“We encourage patients to continue to support the practice while changes are made.”
The report highlights a number of areas where improvements must be made including:
- Take immediate action to address the concerns identified in the enforcement notice to be issued by the fire and rescue authority.
- Improve care and treatment for patients with long term medical conditions. Ensure the improvements are sustainable. Accurately record treatments and tests for this group of patients
- Improve performance in the public health targets. Data showed the practice was a below average performer in four out of six domains.
- Ensure the diagnosis of cancer is recorded in patient records and the care and treatment for these patients is also undertaken and recorded.
Ends
For further information please contact John Scott, CQC Regional Engagement Manager, on 07789875809. For media enquiries, journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team here. For general enquiries, please call 03000 61 61 61.
Find out more
Read our reports about Eldon Road Surgery.