A Newham GP surgery which looked after more than 1,300 people has closed after three scathing inspection reports in a row.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) labelled the Manor Park Medical Centre, in Romford Road, inadequate in all five areas during the inspection on July 3, whose findings were released yesterday.
The practice, led by Dr Surendra Kumar Dhariwal, lost an appeal against CQC’s decision to cancel its registration.
It was not disproportionate for the health regulator to take away the registration, a court at a first-tier tribunal ruled.
The centre’s registration was removed on Monday and the practice no longer operates.
“I was very concerned about patient care at Dr Surendra Kumar Dhariwal’s practice and the lack of response or improvement we have witnessed since previous inspections,” said Prof Ursula Gallagher, CQC deputy chief inspector of GP practices.
The regulator was “left with no option” but to close the practice “in the interests of patients,” she added.
The service was placed in special measures in November 2016. Little had changed despite two more inspections, which also produced ratings of inadequate, the CQC said.
During the latest inspection, the practice was found to have “weaknesses in staff appraisal procedures and training.”
Staffing arrangements were unclear and gaps existed in maintaining staff background checks or information such as medical indemnity insurance, inspectors said.
Areas of the premises were dusty and some items visibly dirty or out of date, they added.
“A significant amount of medicines and equipment were not fit for use and there were no effective systems in place to address this,” read the report.
It stated there was “no evidence” of the duty of candour, the legal duty of health centres to tell and apologise to patients if mistakes in their care have led to harm.
While Dr Dhariwal, a GP at the practice for nearly 50 years, could not be reached for comment, he previously told the Recorder “a lot of” the problems noted in the report were fixed before the clinic was put in special measures.
“It’s a really good practice – we have been here for donkey’s years,” he said.
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