Patients at a health centre were deemed “at risk of harm” after watchdog inspectors found it failing to provide services that were safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.
A Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection at Fulham Cross Medical Centre at 322 Lillie Road found out-of-date vaccines stored in its fridge and noted inappropriate standards of cleanliness and hygiene as its report awarded ‘Inadequate’ ratings in all five key inspection areas.
The centre is run by Dr Zaheer Hussain and is also known by that name. As provider of the services he was placed into Special Measures by the CQC.
The centre has been closed since the CQC inspection in November, with its 2,200 patients being seen at The Lillie Road Surgery on the same road. Dr Hussain's registration was also suspended for a three-month period which has now elapsed.
During the inspection the CQC observed premises to be unclean and untidy, with walls and flooring throughout the practice stained, cracked and visibly dirty.
Medicine management arrangements did not keep patients safe, with inspectors finding several out-of-date flu, shingles, HPV and MMR vaccines within the practice fridge.
Management was also criticised, with staff not clear about reporting significant events, incidents and near misses, and there was no evidence of shared learning or communication with staff.
There was no specific telephone answer phone message to direct patients to appropriate care services and advice when the practice is closed, and there was no available evidence to demonstrate that practice staff had received essential safeguarding, fire safety, basic life support and information governance training.
Closure will be considered
Placement into special measures means that the provider must now make necessary improvements or face action that could result in closure.
Ursula Gallagher, the CQC 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 took urgent enforcement action to suspend the practice for three months in November 2015, in order to give the provider the opportunity to address the immediate concerns we identified regarding patient safety.
“We are hopeful that the Dr Zaheer Hussain will continue to take any necessary action to address the concerns we identified during our most recent inspection.
“In particular, the provider must ensure that robust medicines management processes are introduced, appropriate standards of cleanliness and hygiene are maintained, and that all practice staff complete essential training, in order to reduce the risk of harm to patients.
“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.”
The three-month suspension has now ended, with the medical centre placed under special measures for six months.
getwestlondon was unable to contact Fulham Cross Medical Centre.
