City surgery fails inspection

Broadway Surgery, run by Dr Dineshchandra Patel and Partners in Broadway, Fulwood, was put into special measures after a visit from Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Inspectors found the service was inadequate in safety and leadership and needed improvements in efficiency. Partners said they are “disappointed” and are working hard to make changes.

A report highlighted:

- Patients were at risk of harm because systems and processes such as recruitment checks were not in place to keep them safe.

- There was not a systematic approach to assessing and managing risks.

- Policies were not easily accessible and not all were detailed enough

- There was a lack of understanding around what training was required for staff

However, chief inspector Professor Steve Field did say the practice was caring and responsive. He said patients were generally positive about their interactions with staff and “were treated with compassion and dignity”.

He added: “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 any population group, 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.”

A spokesman for the surgery said: “The GPs and staff are very disappointed with our CQC report and the rating of overall ‘inadequate’.

“We would like to reassure our patients that we always aim to provide a high quality standard of care, which is very important to us.  We had a rating of ‘good’ for being caring and responsive and are working very hard to make improvements in the areas where we were rated less than ‘good’.”

Staff are happy to discuss the issue with any patients who have concerns.