The Care Quality Commission has apologised for taking months to publish a report into a South Holland medical centre.
Changes to the commission’s technology resulted in problems with its processes which meant a regulation breach wasn’t made public until months later.
“The amount of time taken to publish this report falls far short of what people using services and the trust should be able to expect and CQC apologises for this,” said a spokesman. “Whilst publication of some reports has been delayed, any immediate action that CQC needed to take to protect people using services has not been affected.
“CQC is taking urgent steps to ensure that inspection reports are published in a much more timely manner.”
The centre’s most recent report was published this month, but the initial assessment was dated August 14 to November 6 last year.
The centre was issued a warning notice during that assessment, but that detail wasn’t published until earlier this month when a regulation breech was revealed.
Usually, reports are made public within a few weeks of inspections taking place.
The May report saw the surgery awarded a grading of ‘good’ in all areas.
“The latest report reflects a series of substantial improvements made across the practice since the last inspection, including facility upgrades, enhanced patient access, innovative care models and inclusive practice standards,” said a statement from the Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board (ICB).
The practice has also become a GP training-accredited site and achieved the Lincolnshire Carers Quality Award.
“This result reflects the dedication and hard work of our entire team and offers important reassurance to our patients. It recognises the strong leadership within the practice and the continued commitment of our staff to providing high-quality, patient-centred care,” said Dr Lucy Rushworth, on behalf of the medical centre.
She also thanked the ICB for helping with modern IT systems, improving clinical pathways and gain recognition through initiatives including a quality early warning system.
