Sheffield health centre rated inadequate by inspectors

The health centre was rated as "inadequate" following a Care Quality Commission inspection in April

A walk-in health centre in Sheffield has been rated as "inadequate" after inspectors raised concerns around patient safety.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected Sheffield City GP Health Centre, on Broad Lane, in April.

It found there were insufficient staff members to run the service at the centre effectively and patients had reported long waits to access care.

The clinic said it had rectified areas for improvement identified.

The CQC report, published on Wednesday, identified "substantial or frequent staff shortages" at the health centre based in Rockingham House.

Inspectors said staff did not always have all the relevant information they needed to deliver safe care.

'Insufficient skill mix'

In their report, inspectors wrote: "The service relied heavily on locum cover and staff told us they felt obliged to stay longer than their shift hours to see patients who presented at the service just before 10pm.

"This resulted in staff staying until midnight or later on occasions to ensure all patients were seen.

"There was an insufficient skill mix of staff to deal with the full spectrum of possible patient presenting conditions."

The service was rated as "inadequate" in four out of six categories, and as "requiring improvement" in two others.

However, inspectors found the healthcare provider had systems in place to safeguard children and vulnerable adults from abuse, and policies were regularly reviewed.

Staff also worked together and worked well with other organisations to deliver effective care and treatment, inspectors said.

Dr Sean O'Kelly, the CQC's chief inspector of hospitals and interim chief inspector of primary medical services, said the service had been placed in special measures and would be kept under review.

"Special measures will give people who use the service the reassurance that the care they get should improve," he added.

In a statement, the clinic said it was "in ongoing discussions with the CQC regarding some factual inaccuracies within the report and await a response to those queries".

"Patient safety and experience remains our utmost priority and we are working hard to ensure the centre continues to deliver a quality service to patients and their families, including the introduction of weekly quality improvement meetings, supported by the CQC and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, to implement further changes quickly and efficiently."