GP surgery placed into special measures

England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice has rated Dr Swaminathan Ravi of Cope Street Surgery in Barnsley as inadequate and placed the practice into special measures following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission.

Dr Swaminathan Ravi was rated as inadequate in the areas of providing safe, effective and well-led care.

Dr Janet Williamson, Deputy Chief Inspector of General Practice at CQC said: “It’s unacceptable that people registered with Dr Swaminathan Ravi aren’t getting the high quality care which everyone is entitled to receive from their GP.

“Although we found most of the issues we raised at the previous inspection had been rectified, we found fresh concerns and breaches of regulations at this most recent inspection.

“We were concerned that despite some improvements, the lack of robust policies and procedures relating to staff, and the running of the practice put people at risk. For example the safeguarding policy had been updated, but was still not detailed enough to protect people using this service.

“We were also concerned that the effectiveness of that practice’s patient outcomes weren’t monitored, and we saw no evidence that they were comparing its performance to others, either locally, or nationally.

“I do not believe that the practice is likely to resolve its challenges without external support. This is why it will remain in special measures.”