Private providers’ GP surgeries shut to appointments over CQC concerns

The Care Quality Commission said it had taken “urgent enforcement action to protect patients” at three practices in Medway run by DMC Healthcare.

The clinical commissioning group for the patch said services for the 11,000 patients registered at the practice will be provided through an “improving access primary care hub”.

On Friday afternoon the CCG said phones at the practice would be answered, with patients able to book appointments at the hub. It said it was hoping to ensure a healthcare worker was at the main surgery, but this had not yet been arranged. 

The surgeries are St Werburgh Medical Practice, at Hoo, near Rochester, and its partner surgeries at Stoke Village Hall and Balmoral Gardens Healthy Living Centre in Gillingham.

The suspension came on the evening of 24 June following a Care Quality Commission visit to the practices last week. The St Werburgh practice had been inspected in November 2019 and rated “inadequate”.

It comes after HSJ last week revealed the company’s dermatology contract in north Kent and Medway had been suspended amid concerns over waiting times.

In a statement about the GP surgeries, DMC Healthcare said: “Unfortunately it was found that a list of 47 patient documents had backlogged in the Docman IT system. This was an unexpected finding and a serious incident and forensic review was immediately put in place.

“Having taken on the GP practice just over 18 months ago, which had many challenges, DMC invested in new staff from the local community, including a GP lead and experienced practice manager. The staff are working as a team and have worked hard to improve the services for all patients. There are measurable improvements eg patient complaints have declined significantly as improvements have been made to access and prescribing systems.”

HSJ understands the letters referred to were follow-up letters from hospital appointments, and some may have mentioned medication reviews. Last week, HSJ reported that the company’s dermatology contract in north Kent and Medway had been suspended amid concerns over waiting times. 

Wilf Williams, accountable officer at NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “Patients do not need to take any action. The CCG is working hard to ensure services are maintained as usual and any disruption to patient care is kept to a minimum.

“We have been supporting the provider for some time, focusing on putting the correct governance, policies and procedures in place to enable staff to transform the services offered to patients. Unfortunately, insufficient progress was made but we will continue to work with them, while also ensuring temporary arrangements are in place for patients.”

The suspension does not affect other non-DMC services at the Balmoral Gardens Healthy Living Centre.