BOSSES at a Lundwood GP surgery have put measures in place to address several concerns which were raised by health inspectors.

Lundwood Practice, at Priory Campus, was visited by inspectors from the Care Quality Commission who rated it as ‘requires improvement’ overall.

It also required improvement for the quality of care of older people, people with long term conditions, families children and young people, vulnerable people and people experiencing poor mental health.

Inspectors visited the surgery, and also the head office of Barnsley Healthcare Federation, which runs the surgery, to look at governance.

An inspection report said the surgery was rated as ‘requires improvement’ for safety because significant events were not analysed over time to identify a recurring theme, there was no documented evidence of an induction for locums and there were gaps in some medicine management processes.

The report said: “There was a lack of overarching governance arrangements in place that meant patients were not always kept safe from avoidable harm. There was a leadership structure but communication between staff and management was limited and some staff felt unsupported by the senior management team.”

But the report said there were adequate systems to assess, monitor and manage risks to patient safety, and the practice had clear systems to keep patients safe and safeguarded from abuse. It also said staff treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect, and patients said they felt listened to and supported by staff.

Dr David Shutt, medical Director, Barnsley Healthcare Federation, said: “The CQC’s findings at Lundwood revealed patient satisfaction surveys are higher than the national average in many areas of work delivered by the practice; staff are experienced and knowledgeable and the services are judged to be ‘good’ when it comes to caring.

“Having said this, we acknowledge that the overall ratings awarded at Lundwood are not acceptable and I would like reassure patients that the measures we have introduced since the time of the publication of the report have sought to address the points raised. We have taken the feedback received by the CQC very seriously.

“Delivering a safe, effective and caring service which responds to the needs of our patients remains our highest priority and since the time of the inspection, we have taken significant steps to address the matters raised within the report.

“Finally, I would like to remind patients that we always welcome comments, suggestions and feedback of their experiences of care at BHF Lundwood.

“I would urge anyone who has concerns over the care they have received, or indeed any services provided by Barnsley Healthcare Federation, to contact our patient liaison team who can be reached on 729896 or via e-mail at bhf.patientfeedback@nhs.net.”