England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice has placed a London GP into special measures following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission.
A specialist team of inspectors rated the service provided by Dr Makanjuola as Inadequate for being safe, and well-led, and Requires Improvement for being effective. The surgery was rated Good for being caring and responsive. The practice has been given an overall rating of Inadequate.
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.
The Practice was inspected in October 2014 by an inspection team which included a GP specialist advisor, a practice nurse and a practice manager. A full report of this inspection has been published on the CQC website today.
Not all significant events were being recorded and staff showed little awareness of the reporting process. When things went wrong, reviews and investigations were not thorough enough and lessons learned were not communicated to support improvement.
Although risks to patients who used the services were assessed, the systems used to address these risks were not implemented well enough to ensure patients were kept safe.
Inspectors found staff records did not contain all of the information that would be required to be gathered prior to employment including proof of identification and pre-employment references.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks had not been carried out on some staff members, including the designated chaperone.
The Care Quality Commission has identified a number of areas for improvement, including:
- ensure all chaperones have a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
- ensure all recruitment checks are carried out before employment commences
- ensure fridge temperatures and recording systems are in line with national guidelines
- ensure current guidelines are being used for the diagnosis of all conditions and in particular for the treatment of COPD
- ensure equipment is kept in date including urinalysis testing strips and blood bottles.
- ensure the appropriate storage and logging of prescription pads.
Ruth Rankine, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice said:
“It is important that the people who are registered with Dr Makanjuola can rely on getting the high quality care which everyone is entitled to receive from their GP.
“Many patients were positive about the care they received and said they were treated with compassion and dignity, however our inspectors also found some significant concerns.
“The failure to assess risk or effectively monitor quality that have been identified in the report need to be addressed and immediate action taken so that people get safe, high-quality primary care.
“I do not believe that the practice is likely to resolve its challenges without external support. This is why we are placing the practice into special measures.
“After a period of six months we will inspect again to check whether sufficient improvements have been made."
Patients registered with the practices being placed into special measures should be aware that the package of support being offered by NHS England and the Royal College of GPs will ensure that there are no immediate risks to patient safety at these GP practices whilst improvements are being made.
Ends
For further information please contact CQC Regional Engagement Manager John Scott on 07789 875809. Alternatively, the CQC press office can be contacted on 0207 448 9401 or out of hours on 07789 876508.
Find out more
Read our reports on Dr Makanjuola.
It is important that the people who are registered with Dr Makanjuola can rely on getting the high quality care which everyone is entitled to receive from their GP
Ruth Rankine, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice