GP surgery must improve safety and hygiene standards, rules watchdog

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessed Shakespeare Road Surgery in Eastwood with an announced inspection between April 28 and May 9, as well as using other methods including electronic staff questionnaires and interviewing employees over video conferencing.

Inspectors found one breach of regulations and stated the provider must “ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients” after concluding it “had not done all that was reasonably practicable to mitigate risks to the health and safety of service users receiving care and treatment”.

In its first inspection, the CQC ranked the GP surgery as requiring improvement in the safe, effective, and well-led categories and “good” for being caring and responsive.

They found the management and storage of emergency equipment and emergency medicines was not in line with national guidance and not all staff had completed required training in areas including safeguarding and infection prevention and control.

The CQC report said: “There was no assessment of the risk of, and of preventing, detecting and controlling the spread of, infections, including those that are health care-associated”, as “not all steps been taken” in connection with potential risks associated with legionella bacteria.

Inspectors noted: “Not all areas of the practice, in particular with handwashing sinks and toilets, were cleaned adequately or effectively.”

The CQC also said staff worked well together and with organisations and “treated patients with kindness and compassion”, as well as involving them in decisions about their care and treatment.

Inspectors found one area outstanding, with the practice employing several staff who spoke multiple languages, including those used commonly by the local communities.

As a result, the surgery had introduced a dedicated weekly clinic with GP appointments involving a face-to-face interpreter, allowing patients who did not speak English, or preferred to speak in their primary language, to access services “easily and equally”.

A spokesperson for Shakespeare Road Surgery said: “We acknowledge the report from the CQC, which highlights some areas where we can make improvements.

“We are continually looking at ways that we can enhance the services we provide for our patients and have already made improvements in areas noted in the report.

“Providing high quality, responsive services is a top priority for us and we would like to reassure our patients that they continue to have access to safe and effective services from our committed staff and clinicians.”