Sovereign Harbour medical centre '˜requires improvement' '“ says latest report

The Harbour Medical Practice, in Sovereign Harbour, was given the overall rating after an inspection earlier in the year.

It was rated ‘requires improvement’ in the safe and effective categories, but ‘good’ in the caring, responsive and well-led sections.

The CQC said the centre had lower than average results for patients with poor mental health and dementia, and patients told inspectors they found it difficult to make an appointment with a GP of their choice.

The report said areas where the centre must make improvements include: ensuring staff received required training, and conducting regular checks and a health and safety assessment on the premises.

However, it also said The Harbour Medical Practice had “good facilities and was well equipped,” and patients were treated with “compassion, dignity and respect” and were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.

The practice, in Pacific Drive, opened in 2011 after years of campaigning from Sovereign Harbour residents for a purpose-built medical centre in the area.

The facility cost around £1.6m and took around eight years to get up and running.

The Harbour medical team have released a statement, which says, “At the end of the CQC visit to the practice, the summary from the inspectors on the day was strongly positive. So, on balance, is the full inspection report. The practice was commended for having ‘an open and transparent approach to safety’. The inspectors found that patients were treated with ‘compassion, dignity and respect’.

“Also, ‘the practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients’. “These comments reflect our core values encapsulated in our mission statement ‘to provide a caring high quality medical service in a friendly happy and healthy environment’. We accept that like most institutions, there are areas for improvement.

“Our newly installed management team is focused on addressing these. We are making good progress and feel confident that we will exceed the required standard at our next CQC visit. We remain committed to keeping our patients at the centre of all that we do.”