GP Practice Placed in Special Measures By CQC After Standards Slip

Staplehurst Health Centre in Tonbridge, Kent, had been placed into special measures following a significant decline in standards, witnessed during an inspection in November 2017.

Staplehurst Health Centre is rated as Inadequate for being safe and well led, Requires Improvement for being effective and responsive to people’s needs and Good for caring.

Key Areas of Concern

• The practice did not always have clear systems in place to identify and manage risk. 
• When incidents did happen, the practice was not always able to demonstrate that their analysis identified all risks or that their subsequent action and learning was effective. 
• The practice did not always maintain appropriate standards of cleanliness and hygiene. 
• Most patients’ needs were fully assessed. This included their clinical needs and their mental and physical wellbeing. However, the care plans for patients with dementia were not complete or personalised.
• Patients told inspectors that they were not always able to access care and treatment from the practice within an acceptable timescale for their needs. This aligned with views in the national GP patient survey. 
• The practice had a range of governance documents to support the delivery of the strategy and good quality care. However, inspectors found that governance arrangements were not always effectively implemented. 
• The systems and processes for learning and continuous improvement were not always used effectively to identify risks and areas for improvement. Where these had been identified subsequent action was not always timely or effective

Ruth Rankine, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice for the South of England, said: “While I find it encouraging that Staplehurst Health Centre has worked hard to ensure improvements have taken place, I am disappointed that at this inspection further significant concerns have been identified by our inspectors."

“As a result of these concerns the practice will benefit from being placed into special measures, so the service can receive the support it needs to improve."

“We will continue to monitor progress and we will inspect again within six months to check whether sufficient improvements have been made. I am hopeful that the practice will do what is required for the sake of their patients but if we find that the service remains inadequate, we will consider taking further enforcement action even if that leads to cancelling its registration.”