An inspection of the Rush Green Medical Centre has found considerable improvements, after an initial assessment by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated the practice as Inadequate.

In October 2019 the practice regulator found the Dagenham Road centre to be in breach of two regulations from the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

The doctors who run the practice were given two warning notices to comply with the regulations by February 1, 2020.

Assessments by the CQC are broken down into five categories: safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

In the 2019 inspection, the practice ranked as Inadequate in the safe and well-led areas.

With respect to safety, particular concerns related to gaps in recruitment checks (including Disclosure and Barring Service – DBS – checks), references, checks of professional registration, staff training (including for fire safety) and infection control.

The practice was deemed Inadequate in the well-led category as the CQC felt that the delivery of high-quality care was not assured by the practice leadership.

Both effective and responsive were assessed as Requires Improvement.

The practice was told to make its service more effective by addressing issues relating to the delivery of care and treatment, as well as the clinical work being carried out by healthcare assistants, nurses and pharmacists.

To become more responsive the practice was advised to improve the system of sharing patient complaints with staff.

The surgery was assessed as Good with respect to its caring.

At the follow-up inspection on March 5 a number of improvements were found. Though the current rating held by the practice remains unchanged, the CQC noted many positive changes.

Staffing policy has been overhauled. The practice now conduct the appropriate recruitment checks alongside a new induction policy for staff.

Both the complaints procedure and staff training have been brought up-to-date, with documented supervision sessions also in place for healthcare assistants and practice nurses.

Overall, the CQC found that practice leaders had demonstrated the capacity and skill to address the issues previously identified, and confirmed that they are now compliant with the regulations.

The practice did not respond to request for comment.