Ilford urgent care centre rated Inadequate by CQC

An urgent care centre in the London borough of Redbridge has been rated as Inadequate overall by the Care Quality Commission and placed in special measures.

King George’s Emergency Urgent Care Centre (EUCC) was rated Inadequate for being safe and well-led. It was rated Requires Improvement for being effective and caring and Good for being responsive.

The independently run EUCC is based at King George Hospital, part of Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust. The service is delivered by The Partnership of East London Cooperatives (PELC) Limited.

Inspectors found the EUCC’s clinical streaming process, where patients are initially assessed by a nurse or ‘streamed’ did not safely assess, monitor or manage risks to patients.

The provider must now:

• Ensure that care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients.
• Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

The provider should now:

• Review its medicines management protocols, ensuring prompt access to emergency medicines.
• Review the training of non-clinical staff in response to patient feedback.

However, the service was rated Good for being responsive to patients’ needs. It offered step free access and all areas were accessible to patients with reduced mobility. Consultations were not restricted to a specific timeframe so clinicians were able to see patients as long as was necessary.

Professor Ursula Gallagher, CQC Deputy Chief Inspector of GP Practices, said:

“It is a matter of extreme concern that an urgent care centre should be rated as Inadequate and placed in special measures. I can’t emphasise enough the importance of triage and assessment at all times in urgent care and our expectation that this will be delivered.

“The service will be kept under review and if needed could be escalated to urgent enforcement action.”

Read the inspection report