A GP surgery has been rated 'inadequate' after inspectors found it failed to carry out proper recruitment checks and could not show all staff had received proper training.
Parkview Surgery in Cleckheaton was placed into special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and risks being shut down if changes are not made quickly enough.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Parkview said the recommendations had been reflected on and the surgery is confident that all the required improvements will be made within the timescale set out by the CQC.
Inspectors visited the site on Greenside in December 2022, and their findings have now been published.
The surgery, which provides services to more than 7,000 patients, with one GP partner and four locum GPs, was rated as inadequate overall – based on the ‘safe’ and well-led’ categories falling to the lowest level. The surgery was rated as 'requires improvement' under the ‘effective’ category.
Inspectors found that there were gaps in safeguarding systems and processes, and recruitment checks for staff were “not always carried out in accordance with regulations”.
In addition they raised concerns that the practice was unable to demonstrate that all staff had received the appropriate training, supervision and appraisal, and could not show it had an effective induction system for all staff.
Furthermore, a record of the vaccination status of all staff was not maintained.
Following the inspection, enforcement warning notices were issued for ‘safe care and treatment’ and ‘good governance’ – with a six-month timeline for improvements to be made.
The report states: “The service 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.”
The latest report states that this focused inspection was carried out due to “some information of concern we received in relation to systems and processes to ensure safe and effective care and treatment”.
The report adds that inspectors found breaches of regulations and improvements must be made in areas such as: ensuring care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients; ensuring recruitment procedures are established and operated effectively to ensure only fit and proper persons are employed; and ensuring persons employed in the provision of the regulated activity receive the appropriate support, training, supervision and appraisal necessary.
A spokesperson for Parkview Surgery said: "The CQC has recommended that we make a number of changes in order to ensure the practice meets the required standards and we are working with our partner NHS organisations to ensure that we are fully compliant.
"Despite the Covid-19 pandemic and winter pressures across the healthcare system we have been actively addressing the recommendations whilst ensuring that patient safety and care is our number one priority.
"We would like to reassure our patients that there are no immediate concerns with regard to patient safety at the practice.
The recommendations that the CQC have highlighted relate to non-clinical management.
"In response to this we have changed the senior management leadership team structure and processes and this has been shared and agreed with the CQC and the local Integrated Care Board.
"In addition, we have employed a new Practice Manager who will retain oversight of the practice operations, ensuring that the non-clinical findings are resolved and that processes are in place to ensure that any changes are embedded and sustained.
"The practice has reflected on the recommendations from the CQC and these will be used as learning and quality improvement for the practice.
"We are confident that we will have made all the required improvements within the timescale set out by the CQC."
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