TWO GP surgeries which were controversially taken over by a new provider despite opposition from hundreds of patients have been found to be in breach of healthcare regulations by inspectors.
Barnsley Healthcare Federation has been in charge of Highgate in Grimethorpe and Shafton since being appointed by the Barnsley Clinical Commissioning Group on a 15-year contract worth £10m in 2016.
But a report from inspectors from the Care Quality Commission, published last Friday, revealed several areas which required improvement including leadership; safety; effectiveness; provisions for older people; long-term conditions, families and children; working-age people; vulnerable patients and those suffering from mental health.
“We carried out an announced inspection at Barnsley Healthcare Federation’s Highgate surgeries as part of our programme. We also carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at its head office, based at Oaks Park Medical Centre, to look at governance.
“We found there was no open and transparent approach to safety and no effective system in place for recording, reporting and learning from significant events.
“The practices did not routinely review the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care provided. There was limited evidence of audits and quality improvement activities to demonstrate monitoring and assessment of the patient outcomes was being undertaken since the service registered in July 2016.
“There was a lack of overarching governance arrangements in place that meant patients were not always kept safe from avoidable harm.”
The federation was told improvements must be made because it had breached two regulations safe and care treatment and receiving and acting on complaints.
However, the surgeries’ care was praised the only aspect to receive a ‘good’ rating despite mixed results from a patients’ survey carried out last July.
Just 74 per cent said their GP was good at listening to them, which is 15 per cent lower than the national average, while 84 per cent said they had confidence and trust in their doctor 11 per cent lower than the CCG’s own benchmark.
Dr Merbhan Ghani, chairman of Barnsley Healthcare Federation, said:“Although we are disappointed with the results of the CQC’s findings at Highgate, I would like to reassure all patients that providing a safe, effective and caring service which responds to their needs, remains our highest priority.
“The feedback received during the inspection at Highgate is consistent with the assessment of services provided at other sites operated by Barnsley Healthcare Federation.
“Inspectors recognised the quality of care provided within our surgeries as being ‘good’ and it is clear that satisfaction levels in the surgery’s nursing team is higher than the national average.
“I feel it is important to stress the report published is based upon findings in the surgery months ago. We have taken the feedback received by the CQC very seriously and new measures to provide greater levels of accountability and transparency across all of our services were introduced immediately.”
