Medical centre hits back over criticism

STAFF at a GP surgery have criticised the Care Quality Commission for including what they claim to be errors in a recent inspection report.

The claim is disputed by the CQC.

The Chronicle reported how Springfield House Medical Centre, on Huddersfield Road, Oldham, received an overall “requires improvement” rating following a routine visit. The practice was rated “inadequate” for service safety and required improvement in effectiveness and leadership.

In a letter to the Chronicle the surgery has hit out at the CQC for including “errors” in the inspection report regarding out-of-date equipment being found in treatment rooms.

The letter, signed by GP partners Dr Matthew Henry Milton, Dr Saroj Saraf, Dr Aleksandra Makojnik and Dr Daniel Coates as well as practice manager Janet Stevenson, says: “Our corrections (to the report) were dismissed and a serious error about out-of-date needles being found in the treatment rooms appeared in the final report. This applied to the cellar storage of outdated and unused equipment only, which was awaiting disposal. All equipment in the clinical rooms is always regularly reviewed and updated.”

The letter went on to affirm the practice’s higher marks in other service areas and that the inspection authority itself had been the subject of serious criticism by the British Medical Association for its “overly bureaucratic” and “often nit-picking” reports.

The letter goes on to state: “We wish to assure our patients and the general public that our services are safe and of a high standard and that the patient-centred care is and will always be our priority.”

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