Bosses at a doctors surgery say the practice has "turned a corner" following an inadequate rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Horsmans Place Surgery, in Dartford, was put into special measures and issued two warning notices for breaches in regulations following an inspection in May.

The Instone Road practice, which has a patient population of about 9,590 people, was previously rated good following a review in September 2016.

In May, inspectors said it was inadequate for providing a safe service and being well-led, requires improvement for being effective and responsive and good for being caring.

They found safeguarding polices had not been reviewed, recruitment checks were not always conducted, risk assessments were lacking and medicine management did not always keep patients safe.

The report added those with long-term conditions were not always receiving relevant reviews and although patient's needs were assessed, treatment was not always in line with current legislation.

Despite this, inspectors said: "There was compassionate leadership at all levels."

Horsmans Place Surgery was then re-inspected on October 20 to ensure it had met the legal requirements of the warning notices. Its overall CQC rating could not change as that was not the purpose of the visit.

"The practice has turned a corner and there has been important work done..."

In a report published on December 12, inspectors found the surgery had addressed the warnings but was "still failing to provide care and treatment" safely.

It found patients with long-term conditions, those prescribed high-risk medicines and people with potential missed diagnoses had not always received the required monitoring.

It also said the "practice did not always have clear and effective processes for managing risks, issues and performance" and found one breach of regulations.

The CQC also said the management of medications still did not always keep patients safe and, although risks had been assessed, it was unclear what was being done to manage these.

Yet, positive changes had been made to meet the earlier warning notices.

The report said the surgery had started following best practice guidance for the monitoring of patients, clinical supervision audits and appropriate staff checks were completed and safeguarding policies had been updated and reviewed.

It added that regular meetings were being held, with learning shared with all staff and training on identifying sepsis had been issued for those working on reception.

A spokesman for the management team at Horsmans Place Surgery said: "We have turned every stone since the inspections. We have done a lot and staff morale is high.

"There has been a lot of positive changes. We are really proud of what we have done so far. The CQC has got rid of the enforcement orders.

"There is still work that needs to be done but in general very good progress has been made.

"This is a good report. The practice has turned a corner and there has been important work done. The surgery is in good hands."

Inspectors suggested the surgery "continue to gather information on the immunisation status of staff" and "ensure there is an infection prevention and control policy".