Middlewich's Waters Edge Medical Centre told it must improve by healthcare watchdog

The Care Quality Commission carried out an inspection at the medical centre in Leadsmithy Street in October, and the findings have now been made public.

At the time of the inspection, the practice was experiencing ‘significant staffing issues’.

It did not have a practice manager and they were reliant on locum GPs and advanced nurse practitioners to provide clinical support to patients. The practice also had administration staff vacancies.

The inspection highlighted that the safety, effectiveness and management of the service were all below what is required, but the care and responsiveness of the service was classed as good.

It also highlighted that the percentage of patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or other psychoses, who had had an agreed care plan documented in the preceding year, was 32 per cent – well below the national average of 89 per cent.

Prof Steve Field, chief inspector of general practice at the CQC, said: “The overarching governance of the practice was ineffective and did not support the monitoring of the quality and safety of the service.

“Not all risks to patients were assessed and managed. For example, those relating to staff recruitment checks, some health and safety checks and the summarising of new patient medical records and the lack of an effective recall system for patients with long-term conditions.”

South Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which manages the practice in Middlewich, responded by saying it will be ‘working closely’ with Waters Edge to address the issues.

Dr Andrew Wilson, GP and Chair of NHS South Cheshire CCG, said: “High-quality care for patients is always the CCG’s highest priority.

“The CCG will be working closely with the practice on areas of improvement identified in the report to provide assurance to patients, as well as to build on the two out of five areas highlighted as good: how services are caring and responsive to people's needs."