PONTELAND Medical Group has been told it requires improvement after a recent inspection from a healthcare watchdog.

At the inspection by the Care Quality Commission on February 7, the medical group was assessed on five categories.

It was told it required improvement in the categories of ‘safe’ and ‘responsive’ and received a good rating for being effective, caring and well-led, gaining a ‘requires improvement’ rating overall.

Ponteland Medical Group provides services to around 10,500 patients from its three branches at Ponteland Medical Group on Meadowfield Industrial Estate, Dinnington Surgery and Darras Clinic, all of which were inspected.

The CQC report stated that it was not clear from the records if all of the practices had completed a fire drill in the last year, and the fire evacuation policy was out of date.

There was a clear policy for ensuring medicines were stored at the required temperatures, but this was not always being followed by practice staff at Ponteland.

In Ponteland, the last recorded check for expired medicines was in January 2016 and on the day of inspection six expired items were found, one dating back to July 2016.

Meanwhile, the inspection observed that data from the last National GP Patient Survey showed that patients rated the practice much lower than average for access to care and treatment.

However, the report praised the practice for the clear leadership structure and the staff, who had the “skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.”

It added that patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect.

The medical group is managed by Northumbria Primary Care Ltd, a partnership set up by Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust with local GPs in Northumberland and North Tyneside.

Dr Nigel Twelves, GP at Ponteland Medical Group and clinical director of Northumbria Primary Care Ltd, said: “We fully welcome the findings of the Care Quality Commission’s report and value all feedback that will ultimately help us improve the care we provide for our patients.

“Whilst there are many positives for our staff to be proud of, we also fully accept that we need to improve and are now focusing our efforts on developing our services in new and innovative ways for the future.”