STAFF at a town centre GP are celebrating after it bounced back with a good review from a government watchdog.

Park Lane Practice has been awarded a 'good' rating by Care Quality Commission inspectors after they visited in September.

This is a step up from its previous inspection, after which inspectors said that it Requires Improvement.

The practice serves around 6,700 patients in the area.

Robert Charles, practice manager, said: “This is great news. The practice has moved forward an immeasurable amount over the last 12 months.

“We used the previous report to take stock and find out where to make changes and improvements so that we can become the best practice we can be.

“Everyone has worked very hard to achieve this result.

“Now we want to move forward while maintaining this good standard with our regular service.”

It has been a steady road to recovery for Park Lane Practice since it was placed in special measures in June 2017.

Inspectors were initially dissatisfied by the conditions at the GP surgery when they returned in February this year.

They reported that the services were inadequately-led and responsiveness, care and effectiveness could be improved.

The quality of care every population group identified in their report all required improvement.

But during the most recent inspection in September, CQC inspectors noticed an impressive turnaround and have since given the practice the thumbs-up.

Every category now has a good rating, the services provided have been deemed safe, effective, responsive, caring, and well-led, and previously-identified breaches in healthcare regulations have been fixed.

The risk-management systems effectively reduced the likelihood of safety incidents, the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care provided is regularly reviewed, and staff treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

Inspectors noted that there was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation, and it was aware of areas where they were performing at worse-than-average levels and could show what they were doing to counter this.

Before the practice can be rated outstanding, it needs to keep making efforts to increase patient satisfaction and the programme coverage of women eligible for cervical cancer screenings, and review how it addresses electrical faults.