CONTROVERSIAL GP firm IMH has been told by the health watchdog that urgent improvements are necessary.

But the Care Quality Commission has remained tight-lipped over the nature of those improvements.

Inspectors are understood to have served IMH, which oversees five surgeries in Swindon under the umbrella of the Better Health Partnership LP, with enforcement action. IMH has the right to appeal the decision.

This year, two IMH-linked practices have been handed damning CQC ratings. And the firm has faced criticism since the autumn over the bungled introduction of a central hub responsible for booking GP appointments.

Moredon Medical Centre was placed in special measures in January, with inspectors warning the practice was failing to meet key safety and legal requirements. Two months later, Taw Hill Medical Practice was given a Requires Improvement rating. The CQC raised patients’ concerned they had not been consulted on phone line changes.

Ruth Rankine, CQC’s deputy chief inspector for general practice, said: “We have been made aware of concerns regarding services belonging to Better Health Partnership LP, which provides services to fives GP practices in Swindon (Moredon Medical Centre, Abbey Meads Medical Centres, Taw Hill Surgery, Eldene Surgery and Phoenix (Toothill) Surgery).

“The CQC has inspected the service on April 11, 2019 and returned on April 16, 2019 and we will publish our findings in due course.

“We have taken urgent enforcement action to ensure the group leadership address a number of issues inspectors found during these inspections. However, all enforcement action is subject to appeal and CQC are unable to comment further at present.

“Our priority is always the care and wellbeing of people using healthcare services.”

Reacting to the news, Kate Linnegar, Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for North Swindon, said: “I hope the action taken by the CQC brings major improvements to the service. At the moment there are still significant problems which no one has been able to rectify, despite patients continually sharing concerns for over six months.”

Justin Tomlinson MP, in whose North Swindon constituency three of the five practices are based, added: “It’s absolutely vital that all of the organisations work together and constructively to get this long-standing issue finally resolved. The continued frustration and anger of patients has to be addressed once and for all.”

Swindon Clinical Commissioning Group said it was aware of the latest CQC action. IMH was approached for comment. Earlier this week, a spokeswoman for the firm apologised after a patient complained that lengthy waits to speak to his practice.

She added: “We have recently amended our appointment system to incorporate a staggered release of appointments, enabling us to offer an increased number of one and two week pre-bookable appointments.”