A north London practice has been rated Inadequate overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Tottenham’s Tynemouth Medical Practice was rated Inadequate for being effective and responsive. It was rated Requires Improvement for being caring and well-led and Good for being safe, following the inspection in August 2019.
The practice’s published 2018-19 performance for childhood immunisations showed uptake had declined and were significantly below the World Health Organization minimum target of 90 per cent uptake.
The practice’s 2018-19 cervical cancer screening programme remained significantly below the national target of 80% uptake. Uptake of its breast cancer screening programme had declined in comparison to the practice’s performance in 2017-18.
The practice had made several changes, to improve access, however the results of the GP Patient Survey relating to access and timeliness of appointments showed the practice’s performance was below local and national averages.
However, CQC rated the practice Good for providing safe services. Inspectors were shown evidence of regular fire drills and alarm checks. The practice had completed all actions identified in its fire risk assessment.
Staff records CQC looked at for those who needed an appraisal showed evidence of an appraisal within the past year.
Both the adult and children’s safeguarding policies showed evidence of having been created or reviewed within the last 12 months.
The practice had introduced a written procedure for storage of blank prescription paper.
The provider must now establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.
Head of Inspection for Primary Medical Services in London, Antony Hall, said: “There have been some improvements at Tynemouth Medical Practice, but it still has an overall rating of Inadequate so there is plenty of scope for improvement.
“I am aware that the practice was rated Good for providing safe services and I would like to see more ratings at that level in the future. However, the practice remains in special measures and we expect to see improvement within six months or we could be obliged to use our enforcement powers.”
You can read the inspection report when it is published on CQC’s website by clicking on www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-569259821
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