Hastings GP surgery branded as ‘inadequate’ by CQC

Health inspectors have branded a GP surgery as ‘inadequate’ in their report published this week.
Roebuck Surgery, Hastings Old Town. SUS-170126-122130001Roebuck Surgery, Hastings Old Town. SUS-170126-122130001
Roebuck Surgery, Hastings Old Town. SUS-170126-122130001

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited Hastings Old Town Surgery, based at Roebuck House, High Street, last October.

At its last inspection in December 2016, the surgery was rated ‘good’ in all areas.

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In the latest report, however, inspectors said: “The practice did not have a clear system in place to track significant events nor learn from these. Pre-employment checks undertaken by the practice were not thorough.

“Arrangements for the tracking and security of prescription forms was not sufficient. 37 per cent of patients who required a medication review had not had one done between October 2017 and October 2018 and test results for 495 patients were found to be outstanding, 221 of which had been flagged as abnormal.

“The practice held incomplete records of the temperature of the medicines fridge. Complaint response letters written to patients had not been dated and the complaints policy was not followed appropriately and the practice did not have a functioning patient participation group. The lack of leadership and oversight in the practice resulted in ineffective systems to identify and proactively manage risks, issues and performance.”

Dr David Warden, chairman of Hastings and Rother Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said: “We welcome CQC inspection findings and the help they give us to identify where improvements can be made to ensure people have access to safe and consistently high quality care. At Hastings Old Town we are encouraged by the good ratings for patient care and responsiveness to patients’ needs but there is still much to do. NHS Hastings and Rother Clinical Commissioning Group will be supporting the GPs and practice staff at the surgery to take any actions needed to address the issues highlighted in the CQC’s report.”

To read the full CQC report, click here.