Doctors’ surgery put in special measures

A doctors’ surgery has been placed into special measures by England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice after being rated ‘inadequate’.

The Hereward Practice Group, in Exeter Street, Bourne, was inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on February 4.

In a critical report published yesterday, the CQC said the surgery - which provides care to more than 12,500 patients - must make a number of improvements.

Problems with leadership, staff training, record keeping and the accurate recording of dispensary errors were all highlighted in the report.

Although the surgery was given a ‘good’ rating for providing effective services, failures elsewhere meant its overall rating following the inspection was given as ‘inadequate’

Janet Williamson, deputy chief inspector of general practice and dentistry in CQC’s central region said: “It is important that the people who are registered with Hereward Group Practice can rely on getting the high quality care which everyone is entitled to receive from their GP.

“During our inspection we saw that the practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. However, we also found that care and treatment was not always delivered in line with best practice.

“We have found significant areas of concern, which is why we are placing the practice into special measures - so opening the way for the practice to receive support from NHS England among others.”

The CQC will continue to monitor the surgery and will inspect it again in six months to check whether improvements have been made. Further action could be taken if inspectors still have concerns.

At the time of February’s inspection the practice employed six GP partners, four salaried GPs and two GP registrars, alongside support staff.

Dr Rachel Elder, senior partner at Hereward Group Practice, said she was very disappointed with the report’s findings and added that failures are being addressed.

She said: “Being in special measures means that the CQC has found that some elements of the services we provide have not been to the expected standard.

“In our case, the failures relate to some administrative systems and processes which have been rated as inadequate. These failures have either been resolved or are being addressed.

“As a practice we are very disappointed with the result we have received and would like to take this opportunity to reassure our patients that their clinical care has never been compromised.

“We are making every effort to improve the administrative processes to the required standard and would like to apologise to our patients for any concern that may have been caused as a result.

“The CQC has rated the surgery as good in relation to assessing the needs of patients and, with the support of our staff, South Lincolnshire CCG and NHS England, we will continue to provide high quality care for our patients.”