Sunderland medical practice placed in special measures after being branded '˜inadequate' by inspectors

The Care Quality Commission report says the Roker Family Practice, in Roker Avenue, Sunderland, has been given an overall rating of ‘inadequate’ following an inspection.

Inspectors rated the practice as inadequate at providing services that were safe and well-led, and it requires improvement for being effective and responsive to patients’ needs.

It was rated as good for the care offered to patients.

The service was also rated inadequate for the services provided to all population groups.

The practice was inspected in November.

Dr William Arnett, a doctor at the practice, said: “Our focus has always been on providing high quality healthcare for our community and we are already putting steps in place to bring our systems into line with the CQC’s requirements.

“While we are disappointed with this rating, we were pleased to see that the inspectors recognised the practice’s strengths in providing caring service, which fully involves patients in decisions about their treatment.

“The issues raised by the inspectors were mainly about systems and processes, but we take their concerns very seriously and we are confident that we will resolve them over the coming months.

“In the meantime we remain open and very much committed to serving our patients.

“We are keen for our patients to get involved in this process by taking part in a Patient Participation Group.If anyone has concerns about the report, or would like to get involved in the group, I would encourage them to contact us.”