Improvements needed at 8,000-patient medical practice

A Crawley medical practice has been told to improve following a recent inspection.
Leacroft Medical Practice was inspected by the Care Quality Commission earlier this year. Picture: Jon RigbyLeacroft Medical Practice was inspected by the Care Quality Commission earlier this year. Picture: Jon Rigby
Leacroft Medical Practice was inspected by the Care Quality Commission earlier this year. Picture: Jon Rigby

Leacroft Medical Practice in Langley Drive was given a rating of ‘requires improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in a report published earlier this month.

The surgery was praised in the report for its compassionate treatment of patients and that ‘information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand’, but concerns were raised over systems in place to ensure patient and staff safety.

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Leacroft, which serves about 8,100 patients, received ‘requires improvement’ ratings for three of the CQC’s five criteria: ‘are services safe?’, ‘are services caring?’ and ‘are services responsive to people’s needs?’.

However, inspectors gave the surgery ‘requires improvement’ scores for ‘are services effective?’ and ‘are services well-led?’ categories, which meant that the overall rating was also ‘requires improvement’.

In a letter included in the report Professor Steve Field, chief inspector of general practice at the CQC, said:

“There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.

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“However, some systems and processes to address risks were not implemented well enough to ensure patients and staff were kept safe.”

The announced inspection took place on Wednesday, May 25, with results published earlier this month.

‘Requires improvement’ is the third highest out of four ratings the CQC can award.

According to the report, patients said they felt ‘the practice offered good care and staff were friendly, informative and kind. Many patients commented on the cleanliness and good facilities at the practice building.’

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Instances where inspectors found legal requirements were not being met must be addressed by the practice in a report sent to the CQC. The report must detail how these requirements will be met.

The practice building was closed for 13 months after suffering extensive damage in a storm in December 2013.

Leacroft Medical Practice was approached for comment but had not responded when this article was published.

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