A BASILDON GP surgery has been placed in special measures as it was slammed by inspectors.

Aegis Medical Centre, on Whitmore Way, has been rated “inadequate” - the lowest possible rating - by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), following an inspection on September 30.

In the report published this week, inspectors found the service was ineffective.

It said: “The practice systems and processes to keep people safe were not effective. Safeguarding procedures for children and vulnerable adults and recruitment procedures required strengthening.

“Some patients did not receive comprehensive face-to-face assessments where these were required, and the results of blood tests were not being reviewed effectively. There was a lack of oversight into the structures and risk management systems.”

The surgery was previously rated "good".

As the south Essex practice expects another inspection in six months, we have decided to look at the other surgeries in the area which are rated "inadequate".

Wakering Medical Centre

A series of missed diagnoses of chronic kidney diseases, and serious concerns over patient care, saw this medical centre rated “inadequate” and ordered to urgently improve in October.

The Great Wakering high street centre has also been placed in special measures and was told it would be re-inspected within the next six months to ensure improvements have been made. 

In the report, the inspector said: “We identified 154 patients with a possible missed diagnosis of chronic kidney disease stage three, four, or five, and we looked at five of their records in more detail.

“Of these, four patients should have been recorded as having chronic kidney disease but were not.

“This meant that they were not receiving the appropriate level of care and treatment needed to manage their condition.”

There was also a number of concerns around the safety of children following the inspection on August 23. 

The report added: “There were no safeguarding policies and procedures for adults and children.

“These were created during the inspection but had not been signed off by management or shared with staff.

“Practice staff did not attend any regular meetings to discuss children where there were safeguarding concerns, which meant the safeguarding needs of some children may not have been adequately met.”

Matching Green Surgery

This GP surgery in Basildon was rated inadequate by the watchdog as it raised serious concerns over patient safety.

Inspectors claimed in the August report that there is a “lack of clinical oversight with patients test results”, as well as stating medicine reviews are not always being completed.

Their report outlining their findings states: “The practice systems and processes to keep people safe were not effective.

“It did not have an effective system to review children and adults with safeguarding concerns.

“The practice did not have effective risk assessments in place for the lack of emergency medicines and there was not an effective system in place to monitor the prescribing of controlled drugs.”

CQC inspectors rated the surgery inadequate in the well-led and safety categories, while it was marked as requires improvement when it came to effectiveness.

This was the first time the practice, which offers a mix of on the day appointments, telephone consultations and advance booking, had been rated by the CQC.

Another key concern raised by inspectors was the surgery’s “vision and strategy” for how its care is monitored.

However, the surgery was rated good for responsiveness and caring, with CQC inspectors adding feedback from staff had been “positive”.