Improvement still needed at practice
A Maidstone GP surgery placed into special measures in the summer is showing signs of improvement, according to a new report.
Inspectors rated the service at Albion Place Medical Practice, which serves 12,800 patients in the County Town, as inadequate in July, after they found a number of problems with the systems in place, including the recording and reporting of significant emergencies, and the managing of medicines.
Concerns were also raised that there were not always enough GPs on hand and the amount of appointment slots for the number of people registered there and whether appropriate recruitment checks on new staff had been undertaken.
However, in a follow-up report by the health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission, in November – the findings of which were published on Tuesday – inspectors found the practice was able to demonstrate there was now a consistent process for all significant events recording.
It also hailed improvements in Albion Place’s systems, processes and practices to help keep patients safe and safeguarded from abuse and in its management of medicines.
However, the CQC also outlined a number of other steps the practice must take to improve further, including better checks when recruiting employees.
The practice was not rated as a consequence of this inspection, but will be visited by health chiefs again in the coming months, with a view to assessing whether it can exit special measures.
Albion Place Medical Practice was approached for comment on the findings.