The Groves Medical Centre in Clarence Avenue provides care to a population of around 16,630 patients.
It was placed in Special Measures in April 2024 after being rated Inadequate by Care Quality Commission inspectors following breaches found during an inspection in October 2023.
Following their latest inspection in February, inspectors say there is evidence that The Groves has improved its performance across most areas.
It is now rated Good for categories including delivering Safe, Effective and Responsive care.
The CQC says;
We saw evidence that the provider has improved its performance across most areas. It remains rated as Good for providing a Caring service. It is now rated Good for delivering Safe, Effective, Responsive and Well-led care as it had met previous breaches of regulations, including: regulation 12 Safe Care and Treatment, Regulation 16 Receiving and acting on complaints, Regulation 17 Good governance and Regulation 18 Staffing.
We received 84 negative responses. Negative comments included: some patients were not happy to use the online booking system so found it difficult to get an appointment, some patients found it difficult to get an appointment within a reasonable amount of time.
At the time The Groves was put into special measures, the CQC said;
Inspectors found numerous gaps in systems meant to keep people safe, such as staff training and medicines management, and saw leaders at the practice lacked the oversight needed to respond effectively. While leaders were attempting innovative improvements in some areas, they weren’t always risk-assessing these fully or monitoring their outcomes closely.
