Manston Surgery Cross Gates: Leeds GP practice rated 'inadequate' and placed in special measures

Manston Surgery, in Cross Gates, was visited by inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in January and has since been rated ‘inadequate’.

Among the reasons cited were that “the practice did not have effective systems and processes in place to demonstrate good management” and that “the culture of the practice did not enable staff to raise concerns”.

In a statement responding to the commission’s report, Manston Surgery said it is working with health bosses to “ensure that the CQC’s recommendations are met in full”.

The inspection was carried out as part of CQC’s continual checks on the safety and quality of healthcare services and to follow up concerns that had been reported.

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Following the inspection, as well as the service’s overall rating dropping from ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’, its ratings for being safe and well-led have also dropped. Meanwhile, its ratings for being effective and responsive have gone from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’. It was again rated ‘good’ for being caring.

The service has been placed in special measures, which means it will be kept under close review by CQC “to keep people safe whilst it makes the rapid and widespread improvements CQC expects to see”. If the CQC doesn’t see these improvements, it said that further action will be taken.

Sheila Grant, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said: “When we inspected Manston Surgery, it was concerning to see a lack of strong leadership displayed by the provider which had created a culture that didn’t support staff to provide high-quality care and treatment to the 8,220 people using the service.

“When we spoke to leaders, they told us a change within the management team and turnover of experienced staff over the last few years had impacted their ability to provide good care. We found they had relied solely on recruitment into these roles to solve the issues, instead of also focusing on covering the gaps they had left while recruiting. Staff told us managers weren’t approachable and that they didn’t feel supported to do their jobs.”

She added: “We found that not all staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their roles. We saw that many members of staff weren’t up to date with training and a lot of training that had been completed, was only carried out after the inspection had been announced.

“We found the provider didn’t have systems and processes in place to keep people safe from abuse. Staff weren’t up to date on their safeguarding training and we were told there weren’t regular safeguarding meetings with other health care professionals. After the inspection, the practice told us they planned to make improvements.

"We have told Manston Surgery where we expect to see rapid and widespread improvements and will continue to monitor them closely to keep people safe while this happens. We will return to check on their progress and won’t hesitate to take further action if people are not receiving the care they have a right to expect.”

Inspectors found:

• The practice did not have effective systems and processes in place to demonstrate good management.
• The culture of the practice did not enable staff to raise concerns.
• The practice did not always carry out all the relevant recruitment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.
• Staff vaccination was not maintained in line with current UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) guidance.
• Significant events and associated learning were not shared effectively with the wider team.

However:

• People using the service received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• Staff treated people with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.

The full report has been published on the CQC’s website.

A statement posted on the Manston Surgery website has responded to the concerns highlighted by the CQC. It said: “We are working with The Primary Care Team at the Leeds office of the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB in Leeds) to ensure that we meet the CQC’s recommendations. The CQC and the ICB in Leeds were assured that at the practice;

• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.

• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.

“We are working closely with the ICB to look at existing systems and processes to ensure that the CQCs recommendations are met in full.”