A GP practice in West London has been told it must improve after the healthcare watchdog raised concerns about patient consent and dignity.

Grosvenor House Surgery, at 147 Broadway in West Ealing, was inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) earlier this year. It determined that the practice 'requires improvement' against four out of five areas assessed.

In safety, the regulator found that the practice "did not always concentrate on improving people's lives or protecting their right to live in safety, free from bullying, harassment, abuse, discrimination, avoidable harm and neglect". Safeguarding policies are known to staff, but the policy was not reflected in daily practice, the inspection found.

The surgery did not maintain a list of vulnerable people, nor did it record adult patients who "were at risk of abuse and harm". After the inspection, the service told the CQC that the affected patients had now been recorded on the clinical system.

Concerns were also flagged by the CQC about staffing at Grosvenor House. The regulator found that there were not enough "qualified, skilled and experienced staff" who worked well together to provide safe care.

Despite having arrangements in place to promote patients' privacy, the service "did not always treat people with kindness, empathy and compassion" or "respected their privacy and dignity" according to the report. However, staff respond to people's needs in the moment and act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

The watchdog also found issues around consent, as staff "did not always tell people about their rights" and "did not always respect their rights when delivering care and treatment". Some staff were found not to understand and apply legislation relating to consent.

Despite requiring improvement overall, the service was rated 'Good' for its responsiveness – one of the categories assessed. The staff understood the diverse health and care needs of people in their community – this meant that care was joined-up and flexible.

The practice makes it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. They involve patients in decisions about their care and tell them what has changed as a result.

Inspectors found that the surgery learns from complaints, with staff able to identify changes made because of patient feedback. However, patients were not always informed of routes of escalation if they were unhappy with how their complaints were handled.

'We are already improving'

A spokesperson for Grosvenor House Surgery said: "Grosvenor House Surgery accepts the findings of the CQC inspection and recognises that there are areas where our governance arrangements, oversight and systems need to improve. Patients should be assured that the practice remains open as normal, services will continue to be provided, and our staff are being supported through this period of improvement.

"The practice has been through a challenging period, and we are committed to making the changes necessary to provide strong, sustainable services for our patients for the long term. We have already begun a significant programme of improvement and have brought in an interim management team from Health Integration Partners, a well-established clinically led primary care consultancy, to work alongside the GP partners and existing practice team.

"They are supporting the practice with strengthening our governance, management systems, clinical oversight and operational processes, as well as helping us develop a longer-term transformation plan. A detailed action plan is in place in response to the CQC findings, with additional clinical and management oversight introduced and progress being closely monitored.

"We are also working closely with our Patient Participation Group so that patients have an active voice in the changes we are making and in how services develop going forward. Alongside the areas identified for improvement by the CQC, we have also seen significant positive improvement in patients' experience of the practice, through our recent national GP Patient Survey results.

"We believe it is important to recognise both aspects. There are systems and governance arrangements that need strengthening, and we are taking the CQC findings very seriously, but there is also a committed team providing care every day and clear independent evidence that patients' experience of the service is improving.

"Our focus is not simply on responding to the inspection, but on making sustainable changes that will strengthen Grosvenor House Surgery for the future and continue to improve the experience and care our patients receive."