Luton GP surgery slammed in CQC report after it closed its doors last year

A Luton GP surgery which closed last year has been handed an ‘inadequate’ rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) - after inspectors found “multiple breaches of regulations” during their visit.

Dr Isam Saleh, also known as Wenlock Surgery, was dropped from a good rating to inadequate following an inspection in June. Less than two weeks later, Dr Saleh resigned from the surgery and the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (BLMKICB) announced that it would close at the end of July.

The move sparked protests outside the surgery on Wenlock Street in High Town, with residents praising Dr Saleh.

The initial inspection into the GP was prompted after concerns were raised to the CQC around safety and leadership. Now, the report – published today – reveals why inspectors gave an ‘inadequate’ rating to the practice.

Inspectors found that “care and treatment was not provided in a safe way to patients” and they were “not protected from abuse and improper treatment”. The premises and equipment were deemed “not fit for use” and “visibly dirty”.

The GP was also criticised for not learning from previous complaints and for having staff shortages. The report said: “We were told by staff that they had previously had to cancel booked annual leave due to staffing shortages.”

Gill Hodgson-Reilly, CQC deputy director of operations in the east of England, said: “When we inspected Wenlock Surgery, we were disappointed to find leaders lacked oversight of many issues impacting people’s safety and quality of care, and weren’t acting to improve the service.

“The practice was visibly dirty; for example, inspectors found a dirty used instrument on the floor of a clinic room. We also saw people cared for using medications that were significantly out of date and found safety risks such as fire extinguishers locked away without keys nearby.”

The report stated: “The practice did not have an effective system to ensure patients on medicines that required monitoring were appropriately managed in a timely way.” The surgery was not rated on how caring it was – so its ‘good’ rating in that category was carried over.

Ms Hodgson-Reilly continued: “Inspectors found leaders didn’t supervise or support staff enough to make sure they could meet people’s needs, and we didn’t see evidence that new staff were always given inductions. There also weren’t always enough staff to see people in a timely way.

“We saw no evidence that leaders learned from complaints when they received them, and they’d failed to identify the issues we found through their own monitoring.”

Inspectors also revealed that they found people’s data was not always being stored securely. They said: “For example, many records with sensitive identifying information were found in a kitchen cupboard, dating as far back as 2009.”

In June, the integrated care board said: “On 13 June, Dr Saleh, the sole GP partner, decided to resign his contract to deliver primary medical services at the Practice with effect from 28 July 2023 following a Care Quality Commission inspection which took place on 1 June 2023.”

In a text message sent to the affected patients, Dr Saleh told them: “I am retiring on 28th July 2023. The BLMK ICB has unfortunately decided to disperse all of my patients to various other practices and to close the practice. I have tried my best to keep the surgery open for you but I failed.”

A spokesperson for Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board said:

“We welcome the detailed report on Wenlock Street Surgery by the Care Quality Commission, following the concerns we raised with the practice team and inspectors in June 2023.

“Patient safety is paramount to us. On receiving notification from the CQC, the ICB's immediate focus was to work quickly to transfer all patients to other local practices.”

A CQC spokesperson said: “While the practice isn’t currently providing care, it is still registered with the CQC to potentially provide care in future. This is why the practice remains monitored by CQC.“CQC are also currently taking further regulatory action. Full information about CQC's regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports when we are legally able to do so.”