GP surgeries in special measures after inspection

Adelaide Surgery operates three practices in Blackpool

Three general practice surgeries serving about 15,000 people in Blackpool have been put in special measures by the health regulator after they were judged to be providing inadequate care.

Adelaide Surgery has a main site on Elizabeth Street and branch surgeries on Gorton Street and Kentmere Drive.

Following an inspection in July and August, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has told the practice to make "rapid improvements" focusing on safe care and treatment, making sure fit and proper people are employed, and demonstrating good management.

The practice said it "fully accepts that improvements are needed" and is looking to make "rapid and lasting improvements".

'Ineffective triaging'

Linda Hirst, the CQC's deputy operations director in the north-west of England, said inspectors were "disappointed to find a practice that wasn't providing safe GP services to people".

"Our experience tells us that when a service isn't well-led they are less likely to be able to provide good care, which is what we found here," she said.

Identified problems included ineffective triaging of patients "which could place people at risk of harm if they had a serious issue or condition".

Ms Hirst added: "Urgent referrals were usually actioned on the day they were requested, but there had been a recent backlog due to a whole staff group being absent from work at the same time."

This meant some important pathology results "hadn't been actioned for over a month which could delay people's diagnosis and treatment".

Some aspects of the service provided by Adelaide Surgery were praised by inspectors.

Ms Hirst said its staff "understood the diverse needs of people in the local community" and "worked closely with asylum seekers and people living in care homes to ensure harder to reach people could access services and receive support when needed".

She added: "We have told leaders where we expect to see rapid improvements and we will continue to monitor the service closely to keep people safe during this time."

'Rebuilding confidence'

CQC inspectors found:

• The practice did not work well with people and health system partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care

• Leaders did not create a positive learning culture and did not carry out regular staff training and appraisals

• Leaders did not ensure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff available

• Although people could make complaints, they were not always investigated

• Staff could not provide assurance that medicines were kept at appropriate temperatures to ensure they were effective and to avoid potentially harming patients

More positively, they reported that:

• Recent survey results showed people were mainly satisfied with services

• There was a new system in place to provide assurance that appropriate safeguarding actions had been taken, and outcomes were recorded

The practice will be monitored to check sufficient improvements are being made.

In a statement, Adelaide Surgery said: "Our team is committed to learning from this feedback and to rebuilding the confidence of our patients and community.

"We want to reassure everyone that we are determined to provide safe, effective and compassionate care for all our patients.

"Since the inspection, we have been working closely with the Lancashire & South Cumbria ICB [Integrated Care Board] and our Local Medical Committee to make rapid and lasting improvements.

"This includes strengthening our clinical systems, improving how we manage test results and referrals, and ensuring that patient safety and access are at the heart of everything we do."