A GP surgery which did not store medicines safely or have procedures in place for an emergency has been rated inadequate by the health watchdog.

The Care Quality Commission inspected the Dr Awadh Jha practice in Tunbury Avenue, Walderslade, but found every aspect of the service to be well below parr.

In his report, chief inspector Steve Field assessed the safety, effectiveness and leadership of the service as well as the care and responsiveness of staff.

Safety was a cause for concern as the medicines found in the vaccine fridge did not correspond to the records of the medicines held – and the refrigerator temperature was not checked regularly to keep medication at their required temperatures.

Also, checks on staff from when they were employed were incomplete and patient records lacked key information, including their medical history, allergies and reactions to medicines.

“Dr Jha operated the practice in a way which failed to meet the fundamental aspects of good care and treatment. I expect this practice to be transformed. If we find that the service remains inadequate, we will consider taking steps to cancel its registration with CQC.” - Ruth Rankine

The surgery, which also has a branch at the Luton Medical Centre in Beacon Hill, was understaffed at the time of the inspection too. The practice nurse, manager and secretary had all left in the recent months before and nobody had been recruited to replace them.

Staff had not completed some mandatory training such as basic life support and safeguarding, and they told Mr Field they were not clear about some of their responsibilities, to help deliver a well run and well led service.

However the practice was clean and patients were generally happy with the support and treatment they had received.

Mr Field added in his report: “Patients told us that it was sometimes difficult to get routine appointments, although urgent appointments were usually available the same day.”

Although the level of patient care required improvement, staff were said to treat patients with kindness and respect, and confidentiality was maintained.

Lin Hockings, the practice manager said: “The CQC were positive in terms of the care we provide and the patients are happy with quality of care they receive. We are making improvements based on the CQC guidance and are employing a number of new partners.”

Ruth Rankine, deputy chief inspector of general practice at the CQC said: “Dr Jha operated the practice in a way which failed to meet the fundamental aspects of good care and treatment. I expect this practice to be transformed. After six months we will inspect to check whether sufficient improvements have been made. If we find that the service remains inadequate, we will consider taking steps to cancel its registration with CQC.”