The Limes Medical Centre

Ratings

• Overall

  Inadequate

• Safe

  Inadequate

• Effective

  Requires improvement

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Requires improvement

• Well-led

  Inadequate

Our view of the service

The Limes Medical Centre is a GP practice and provides a range of primary medical services. The GP practice is registered with the Care Quality Commission under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 to provide the following regulated activities, diagnostic and screening procedures, family planning, midwifery and maternity services, surgical procedures and treatment of disease, disorder or injury. We inspected and rated this service under our previous methodology on 17 March 2022. The practice was rated requires improvement overall, and for key questions safe, and well-led, effective, caring and responsive was rated as requires improvement. We carried out an announced assessment of 28 quality statements, under the safe, effective, responsive, and well-led key questions between 4 June and 19 June 2024. The assessment was carried out remotely and included an on-site assessment on 6 June 2024. A further unannounced assessment was carried out on 19 June 2024. The service has been rated as inadequate for key questions of safe and well-led and inadequate overall. Effective and responsive was rated as requires improvement. As a result of our assessment findings, this service will be placed in special measures. Services placed in special measures will be inspected again within six months. If insufficient improvements have been made such that there remains a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures to begin the process of preventing the provider from operating the service. This will lead to cancelling their registration or to varying the terms of their registration within six months if they do not improve.

People's experience of this service

We recognise the pressure that practices are currently working under, and the efforts staff are making to maintain levels of access for their patients. At the same time, our strategy makes a commitment to deliver regulation driven by people’s needs and experiences of care. At our previous inspection we found that patients could access appointments in a timely manner. At this assessment we found inconsistencies in appointments and availability for patients accessing care and treatment. The practice was installing a new telephone service to increase access into the practice. Results from the National GP Patient Survey showed the practice were in line with local averages but below national averages in the overall experience of their GP Practice. Feedback from people, relatives and professionals who worked closely with the service was inconsistent. Whilst outcomes from national patient survey results were satisfied in some areas in relation to their contact and experience of the service, we identified shortfalls in relation to the care and treatment provided which could impact people’s experience. You can find more details of our concerns in the evidence category findings.