A GP practice in Burnley has been rapped by inspectors after they found confidential patient records were being stored on the floor of a meeting room.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found Colne Road Surgery was failing to keep patient records securely and told managers to take action, after visiting the practice last month.

The inspectors said: “We found patient records on the floor of the meeting room and in two other rooms on the first floor.

“We were told the rooms were locked at night and that the first floor would not be accessed by patients.

“However we noted contractors had first floor access whilst refurbishment was under way.

“We were concerned that patients' confidential records were not stored securely, were stored in a number of places in the practice and therefore could not be located promptly when required.”

The CQC said this was discussed with managers who made arrangements to move the records to a secure area, with an admin worker designated to organise their storage.

The health watchdog added: “There were no policies or procedures to guide staff with the storage, access and destruction of records.

“We discussed this with the practice manager who confirmed that policies and procedures would be developed and shared with all staff and that regular checks would take place to ensure records were managed appropriately.”

The surgery met the two other essential standards that were examined, relating to the ‘care and welfare of people’ and ‘cleanliness and infection control’.

Helen McArdle, practice manager, said the CQC would soon be returning to check the records were being stored correctly.

She added: “They gave us some actions to follow through and we’ve put them in place. ”