A GP surgery which was controversially taken over by a new provider despite considerable opposition has been told it requires improvement across the board by inspectors.
Barnsley Healthcare Federation, which runs Brierley Medical Centre, was visited by Care Quality Commission inspectors in February, with their findings being published this week.
About 3,000 patients are on the surgery’s books and BHF is also in charge of surgeries in Grimethorpe and Shafton, having been appointed to take over care by the Barnsley Clinical Commissioning Group on a 15-year contract worth £10m in April 2015.
Six areas including older people; patients with long-term conditions; families, children and young people; working age; those with vulnerabilities and people experiencing poor mental health were assessed by Professor Steve Field, chief inspector. The report criticised Brierley Medical Centre’s safety, its effectiveness, leadership and responsiveness to patients’ needs, although the care staff provide was praised.
“At the inspection, we found there was no transparent approach to safety and no effective system in place for recording, reporting and learning from significant events,” it said.
“There was a lack of overarching governance arrangements in place that meant patients were not kept safe from avoidable harm and although there was a leadership structure, some staff felt unsupported by the senior management team.”
BHF, which received criticism from patients for relying on locum doctors when it took over, now has two GPs, two nurses, a healthcare assistant and a physician.
The practice scored highly on its patient surveys, which looked at 116 responses and found 95 per cent said they trusted their GP and 98 per cent had trust in the last nurse they saw. However, monitoring complaints was another area found to be lacking by the CQC, who found no evidence that the practice monitored issues brought to them which led to a regulation breach being given by the inspector.
The report added: “There was no mechanism in place to share learning from complaints with any other staff members. We found no information available with regards to how a patient could take action if they were not happy.
“A response to a complaint made in October 2017 had no details of the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman contact details in case they needed to take further action.
“The provider did not ensure that there was an accessible system for identifying, handling, investigating and responding to complaints made about the service.”
Dr David Shutt, medical director of BHF, said: “Since the time of the inspection, we have escalated many of our planned changes to the way in which our practices operate.
“This has included revising many of our internal systems and procedures, as well as conducting a complete overhaul of the way in which patient feedback and complaints are handled.
“Although we are disappointed with the results of the CQC inspection, I would like to reassure all patients that providing a safe, effective and caring service which responds to their needs remains our highest priority.”
A spokesman from Barnsley CCG said they have been assured the report’s findings are being addressed.
“The report rates the practice as good in its assessment of whether it is caring.
“It also says that patients say they feel listened to and supported by staff and have sufficient time during consultations to make an informed decision about the choice of treatment available to them, which is positive.”
