The Care Quality Commission has placed Crook Log Surgery, Bexleyheath, into special measures following a deterioration in the quality of its services.
Crook Log Surgery had previously been rated Good during an inspection in June 2016.
During the latest inspection in March 2019, which was brought forward due to concerns, inspectors found that there was a significant decline in standards. The practice is now rated Inadequate overall. It was rated as Inadequate for being safe and well-led, Requires Improvement for being effective and responsive to people’s needs and Good for caring.
The full report of the inspection will be published on CQC’s website at: www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-560383996
CQC had found the practice had not done all that was reasonably practicable to provide safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
A review of five staff files, found there was no record of DBS checks or risk assessments for staff, including those carrying out chaperoning duties. Also, none of the files reviewed contained a CV or application form, employment history or references. Four did not have a signed contract.
A review of four patient files and found that one patient had not been coded as pre-diabetic and had not been referred to a diabetic prevention programme
There was a lack of arrangements to ensure that quality assurance processes were in place which led to improvements in patient outcomes.
Staff reported not having defined roles within the team and did not feel clear about their roles and responsibilities and felt overworked due to staff shortages.
Antony Hall, Head of General Practice Inspection for the London, said: “I find it concerning that the high quality, consistent good care we found at our first inspection has diminished to such a degree. While it is good to see that staff are still doing their best to provide a caring service, there needs to be an overall improvement within the practice for the sake of its patients. The practice will benefit from being placed into special measures, so the it can receive the support it needs to improve.
“We will continue to monitor progress and we will inspect again within six months to check whether sufficient 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 enforcement action even if that leads to cancelling its registration.”
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