Branston Surgery in special measures after ‘inadequate’ rating

Branston Surgery near Lincoln has been placed into special measures after a report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) gave it an overall rating of inadequate.

CQC visited the practice on Station Road in November last year and recently published its findings.

The GP was rated as inadequate for safe and well-led services, and requires improvement for effective services – see the evidence table report here.

The practive was found to be failing in a number of areas, including patient safety and emergency care.

The report mentioned one example in which a GP prescribed the wrong medication for a child with breathing problems.

It was also noted that there were 23 female patients of child bearing age taking a medication that increased the risk of birth defects.

The service was placed into special measures and will be inspected again within six months.

If insufficient improvements have been made action could be taken to begin a process of “preventing the provider from operating the service,” which would lead to “cancelling” or “varying the terms of” their registration within six months if they do not improve.

CQC said it carried out the inspection in a way which enabled it to “spend a minimum amount of time on site”.

This included staff interviews using video conferencing, clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system, reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions, requesting evidence from the provider, and a short site visit.

The Lincolnite contacted the practice for a response and was advised to email, but there was no reply by the time of publication.

A spokesperson for the practice told the BBC: “Since the inspection took place, the newly incoming GP Partnership and Leadership Team have worked hard on addressing the concerns highlighted in the report.

“Further information is expected to be made public by CQC in due course surrounding some of the positive changes that have been made recently.”

NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) said it was working closely with Branston Surgery to address the areas noted in the report.

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