A private doctor service in the London Borough of Bexley has been rated Inadequate overall by the Care Quality Commission and placed in special measures.
7 Day Healthcare in Bellegrove Road, Welling, was rated Inadequate for being safe and effective. It was rated Requires Improvement for being well-led, but Good for being caring and responsive, following an inspection in June 2019.
The service was not providing safe services, it had poor safety systems and processes, poor management of patient safety risks and a lack of reliable systems for appropriate and safe handling of medicines.
The provider had made improvements since CQC’s previous inspection in the provision of effective care as it had better arrangements to ensure training and peer support for staff and had started carrying out quality improvement activities in relation to clinical care. However, it did not consistently work effectively with other organisations to deliver services.
Areas where the provider must make improvements as they are in breach of regulations include:
- Ensuring care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients.
- Establishing effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.
However, the service received positive feedback about patients’ care and treatment experiences. The service treated patients with care and compassion and involved them in decisions about their care.
The service delivered services to meet patients’ needs that took account of their preferences, and they listened to and responded to concerns and complaints.
Ursula Gallagher, Deputy Chief Inspector, Primary Medical Services in London, said: “Private providers are expected to deliver the same standard of safe and effective care as all the other providers that we regulate. Unfortunately, 7 Day Healthcare fell short of these standards.
“7 Day Healthcare will be kept under review and if needed could be escalated to urgent enforcement action. Where necessary, another inspection will be conducted within a further six months, and if there is not enough improvement we will move to close the service by adopting our proposal to remove this location or cancel the provider’s registration.
“Special measures will give people who use the service the reassurance that the care they get should improve.
“I have noted that 7 Day Healthcare was rated Good for being caring and responsive and hope that it can build on these two ratings in the future.”
You can read the inspection report in full by clicking on the link below when the inspection report appears on CQC’s website at: www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-147016011
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