An understaffed Leicestershire GP surgery has been told to make improvements.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors found employees at Braunstone’s Hockley Farm Medical Practice were left with “excessive workloads”, in particular in the pharmacy, due to staffing levels.

The surgery, which was graded “requires improvement” overall, said it accepted the findings of the inspection team, was working to make changes and planned to recruit further staff.

The inspection also found patients on regular medication were not always monitored adequately, that staff training was not always appropriate for roles, and that learnings made following incidents were not always communicated correctly.

Inspectors gave an example of some patients taking anticoagulation medicines to help prevent blood clots which “had not always had the correct monitoring tests completed to ensure that patients were receiving effective treatment”.

On the day of inspection, they said, it was not clear who had oversight of the pharmacy team or who was responsible for staff training within the practice in the absence of a practice manager.

A “lack of shared direction within leaders” was also noted.

A spokesperson for Hockley Farm Medical Practice told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “With support from the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board, we are enhancing medication safety by recruiting additional pharmacy staff and regularly reviewing our internal practices.

“We are pleased the CQC recognised our staff for being effective and caring

“We have strengthened our leadership approach to further improve communication with staff and enhance our working culture, so that staff can continue to be heard, feel valued and provide the high-quality healthcare services that our patients expect and deserve.”

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