Medical centre in Brierley Hill on road to recovery but work still to be done, says watchdog

The Waterfront Surgery, at Brierley Hill Health and Social Care Centre, which has more than 8,300 patients registered, was put in special measures last year.

It was told to review the process for managing medicines no longer in use and out of date.

An inspection found the medical centre in Venture Way was breaching Good Governance and Cleanliness and Infection Control regulations.

Officers from the Care Quality Commission returned to the medical centre on September 6 this year to find the surgery had successfully followed its plan to meet the legal requirements and it has since been removed from special measures.

Read the report here

However after its most recent visit on December 1 this year the surgery was told it had areas that still needed to see improvements.

The practice requires improvement for 'providing effective and caring services for all six population groups which include older people, people with long term conditions, families, children and young people, working age people, vulnerable people and people with mental health', according to the report.

A total of 76 per cent of patients diagnosed with dementia had their care reviewed in face to face meetings in the last 12 months – but that figure was also lower than the national average of 84 per cent.

The practice, however, was praised by inspectors for making vast improvements since 2015.

An infection control audit had been completed and evidence was provided that identified actions had been addressed and systems have been put in place to keep patients safe.

The report also stated facilities at the medical centre were deemed to be good and it was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.

Patients also stated they found it easier to make an appointment with the new telephone system in place and urgent appointments were available the same day.

A programme of continuous learning and meetings to support the centre's staff and involve them more in the development of the practice was also praised in the report.

Overall, patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and were involved in their care and decisions about their own treatment.

Practice manager Raj Dau said: "The quality and standard of care that we provide to our patients is important to us.

"The results of our recent CQC inspection reflects the hard work and commitment of our staff to swiftly address the issues that CQC identified.

"We are committed to continue making progress for the benefit of our patients.

"If any of our patients have questions about our services we would welcome their enquiries and feedback."