The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Dr Shabir Bhatti of the Bermondsey Spa Medical Practice in Old Jamaica Road as inadequate and has placed the practice into special measures following an inspection in October 2015.
Placement into special measures means that the provider must now make necessary improvements or face action that could result in closure.
The Bermondsey Spa Medical Practice opened in 2011. Before then, it was known as the Parkers Row Family Practice and was based on the Dickens Estate north of Jamaica Road.
Under CQC’s programme of inspections, all primary medical services in England are being given a rating according to whether they are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.
The full report has been published on the CQC website: http://www.cqc.org.uk/provider/1-199743152
Patients told inspectors that they experienced long waiting times for appointments and that it was very difficult to get through the practice when phoning to make an appointment. Patients also told inspectors that they were long delays when waiting to be seen for their booked appointments
However, some patients were positive about their interactions with staff, although some patients did raise concerns about a lack of concern and rude attitudes from reception and clinical staff on occasions.
CQC inspectors found that appropriate recruitment checks for staff had not been undertaken prior to their employment, and that there were insufficient arrangements to safeguard people from abuse. Practice staff were not clear about reporting incidents, near misses and concerns and there was no evidence of learning and communication with staff.
Ursula Gallagher, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice, said:
When we are faced with a provider that is experiencing difficulties in providing adequate care for patients, our first instinct is to work with them to ensure that patient care improves.
We are confident that Dr Shabir Bhatti will take any necessary action to address the concerns we identified during our most recent inspection.
In particular, the provider must ensure that significant events are consistently recorded and discussed to share learning, and that appropriate staffing arrangements are put in place in order to improve patient access to appointments, reduce risks and improve patient safety.
We will re-inspect within six months to check whether sufficient improvements have been made. If sufficient improvements have not been made and there remains a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall, we will take further action which may include closure.
