An urgent care centre used by residents in Barking and Dagenham has been placed in special measures and rated ‘inadequate’ after inspectors found a number of “extremely concerning” safety issues.

King George’s Emergency Urgent Care Centre (EUCC) which is based in King George Hospital, Goodmayes, is independently run by the Partnership of East London Cooperatives (PELC).

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT) is not responsible for the healthcare provided from the site despite being its landlord

Today the Care Quality Commission (CQC) released its report on the centre and confirmed it had been rated Inadequate for being safe and well-led and was being placed in special measures.

Inspectors, who visited on April 5, found the EUCC’s clinical streaming process, where patients are initially assessed by a nurse or ‘streamed’ did not safely assess, monitor or manage risks to patients.

Of particular concern was that none of the initial checks, nor any of the forms that needed to be filled out, included establishing whether or not the patient was suffering from sepsis.

Professor Ursula Gallagher, CQC deputy chief inspector of GP practices, said: “It is a matter of extreme concern that an urgent care centre should be rated as Inadequate and placed in special measures.

“I can’t emphasise enough the importance of triage and assessment at all times in urgent care and our expectation that this will be delivered.

“The service will be kept under review and if needed could be escalated to urgent enforcement action.”

Inspectors did point out however that BHRUT, as landlords of the site, regularly checked the safety and maintenance of the EUCC’s equipment.

Dr Shazia Mariam, PELC’s medical director, admitted the company was disappointed with the results of the inspection, but pointed out that number of areas had also been complimented, including the centre’s infection control and clinical audit protocols.

She added: “As an organisation, patient safety and quality of care remain our top priorities, and we are taking the report very seriously.

“While we know that we have more to do, we are making good progress.

“This is a disappointing and an unexpected outcome but having being placed into special measures, we will now draw on the additional support available to drive further improvements and make change happen.”