Cricklade Surgery Remains Inadequate After Repeat Safety Breaches

Cricklade Surgery in Swindon has been rated inadequate for safety and leadership after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found that serious concerns identified during a previous inspection remained unresolved.

The GP practice provides services to around 3,400 people under a contract with NHS England and operates a branch site at Ashton Keynes Village Hall.

Following an inspection in April, CQC found the practice remained in breach of four regulations relating to safe care and treatment, staffing, fit and proper persons, and service management. The breaches had previously led to three warning notices after an inspection in December 2025.

CQC has imposed urgent conditions requiring the practice to establish a clear system for ensuring people receive safe, appropriate care in line with national guidelines. The practice must review patient records and test results monthly, act on any issues identified and provide evidence of its actions to the regulator.

The practice was rated inadequate for safety and leadership, while effectiveness was rated as requiring improvement. It remains in special measures, with CQC continuing to monitor the service and the progress of improvements.

CQC found that people taking multiple medicines were not receiving necessary reviews. None of the patients in a sample of people prescribed more than 10 medicines had received a review in the previous two years, raising concerns about potential risks from harmful side effects.

Inspectors also identified abnormal test results that had not been reviewed promptly because they had been assigned to staff who were absent. The issue was not identified until inspectors raised it.

The regulator found weaknesses in the handling of confidential information after a screening test was given to one person containing identifiable details about other people, including their reasons for testing. The practice had not treated the incident as significant or informed those affected.

Further concerns included emergency medicines not always being readily accessible, incomplete checks of background records for staff acting as chaperones, and delays in servicing fire safety equipment, emergency lighting and the gas boiler.

CQC also found reception staff lacked the training and tools needed to assess how urgently patients required appointments safely.

Staff told inspectors they remained unsure about raising concerns and that lessons from mistakes were not consistently shared. The regulator said this increased the risk of repeated errors, including a dispensing error that had happened again.

Victoria Oecken, CQC deputy director of operations in the south west, said the inspection had found that leaders had not resolved serious safety concerns despite previous enforcement action. CQC said it would continue working with local stakeholders and return to assess progress.

However, inspectors also found that patients spoke positively about their care and that satisfaction survey results were in line with national averages.

Cricklade Surgery’s inadequate overall rating was recorded on 1 October 2026. Its continued special measures status means CQC will closely monitor whether the practice addresses the identified risks and delivers the required improvements.

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