A GP practice has been placed in special measures after being branded inadequate by inspectors.

The team from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found The Practice Hangleton Manor in Hove was failing when it came to being safe, effective, caring and well-led.

It also requires improvement for being responsive to people’s needs.

The check took place in September as part of a routine inspection of GP practices that are taking place around the country.

Inspectors found patients were generally positive and treated with compassion and dignity. 

However there was evidence from other feedback sources that this was not consistently the case. 

It was unclear to inspectors how the practice had responded to this feedback.

The CQC found a number of areas of the practice where improvements were needed including: 
 *ensuring risks to patient’s health are appropriately managed and that there is a robust system in place for patient recall, review and care planning.
 *ensuring patients who are nearing the end of life are identified and added to the palliative care register.
 *ensuring the practice clarifies the system for sharing information with the ambulance and out of hours service for patients with complex needs, ensuring that all relevant staff are aware of the system. 

 CQC deputy chief inspector of General Practice, Ruth Rankine, said: “It is important the people who are registered with The Practice Hangleton Manor can rely on getting the high quality care which everyone is entitled to receive from their GP. 

“The practice will clearly need to address these issues so that people get safe, high-quality and compassionate care. 

However I do not believe the practice is likely to resolve its challenges without external support. 
“This is why we are placing it into into special measures.  
“After a period of six months we will inspect again to check whether sufficient improvements have been made. 

“If we find that the service provided by this practice remains inadequate, we will consider taking further enforcement action.”

NHS England South director of commissioning Sarah MacDonald said: “General practice is the bedrock of the NHS and the majority of practices inspected are rated good, with some rated outstanding. 

“These inspections are about ensuring that every patient, anywhere across the country, receives consistently high quality services by identifying issues so improvements can be made.   

“The Hangleton Manor GP practice has confirmed its commitment to making the necessary improvements set out by the CQC. 

“NHS England is working alongside Brighton and Hove Clinical Commissioning Group to support the practice to take the action needed to make sure it has the right processes in place to support the delivery of safe, high quality care to all its patients.”