A GP surgery in Dorset has been found to be in breach of health and social care regulations.

Inspectors said they “could not be assured” that staff would be able to “respond to emergency situations safely”.

The Care Quality Commission published an inspection report into Wyke Regis Health Centre, on Portland Road, Weymouth, last week, saying the surgery ‘requires improvement’.

The inspection, carried out on August 12, found a breach of Regulation 12(2) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 in that “the registered person did not ensure medication reviews were completed and reviewed regularly in line with national prescribing guidelines”.

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The report added that “the provider did not ensure compliance with relevant patient safety alerts issued from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)”.

Inspectors praised the health centre for being well led, saying: “The practice leaders were knowledgeable about issues and priorities relating to the quality and future of community services.

“They understood the challenges affecting their patient population and the local area population and promoted patient involvement in developing and shaping the services.”

However, some staff reported that their “wellbeing had become affected” as the result of “increased workload and staff shortages”.

The CQC report reads: “Non-medical prescribers and allied health care professionals had access to ongoing daily support from GPs. However, feedback from staff informed us that due to staffing pressures this support was not always available.

Some patients were being co-prescribed drugs which reduced effectiveness and that not all staff had completed basic training.

It read: “We found although the majority of staff had received training in sepsis awareness only 12 (38 per cent) of 38 staff members had undertaken basic life support training so we could not be assured that staff could respond to emergency situations safely.

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“We found 45 patients appeared to have been co-prescribed Clopidogrel and Omeprazole together. Omeprazole reduces the effectiveness of taking Clopidogrel to prevent cardiovascular disease. Of the five records reviewed, five of these patents were taking Clopidogrel and Omeprazole together despite a safety alert for this being issued in 2014.

“There was no evidence this had been identified during medication reviews. The medicine had not been altered and we could not be reassured the risks of the combination had been discussed with the patient.”

A spokesperson for Wyke Health Centre said: “The priority of the team here is to provide the best possible care for our patients, so naturally we are disappointed with the report from the CQC which followed the inspection in August.

“The recent pandemic coupled with increasing demand and shortages in recruitment have meant it is a challenging time for health and care not just in Dorset but across the country, however we do broadly accept the findings of the report.

“We would like to reassure people that we are working hard to address the areas identified as needing improvement, supported by our local partners.

“Patients registered with the practice should feel safe and confident using us as normal, and we invite anyone who has any questions or concerns to speak to a member of the practice staff in the first instance.”