Yorkshire GP surgery at risk of being shut down after inspectors found staff did not have safety checks

Parkview Surgery, based at Cleckheaton Health Centre, has some 7,378 patients registered, with one full time GP partner and four locum GPs providing services, as well as three advanced nurse practitioners, a practice nurse, a nurse associate and 2 healthcare assistants.

But inspectors at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found that • recruitment checks for staff were not always carried out in accordance with regulations, and that proper records of staff’s vaccination statuses were not being kept.

The practice had not undertaken any risk assessments of their own practice area, which included health and safety, and management was unable to demonstrate that all staff, including locum staff, had received the appropriate training, supervision and appraisal.

The surgery was rated as inadequate – the lowest possible rating – with the CQC threatening to close it down if dramatic improvements are not made.

Dr Sean O’Kelly, chief inspector of hospitals and interim chief inspector of primary medical services, said: “I am placing this service in special measures.

"Services placed in special measures will be inspected again within six months. If insufficient improvements have been made such that there remains a rating of inadequate for key question or overall, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures to begin the process of preventing the provider from operating the service.

"Where necessary, another inspection will be conducted within a further six months, and if there is not enough improvement, we will move to close the service

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

Inspectors also found aspects of medicines management which included the management of patients prescribed some high-risk medicines, medicines reviews and medicines usage were not always effective.

The inspection, which took place in December last year, took place after the CQC received “some information of concern.”