A GP surgery has been placed in special measures after a health watchdog raised concerns that inefficient systems were potentially putting patients at risk.

Health chiefs have warned Manchester Road Surgery in Burnley could face closure if it does not make improvements.

It was rated 'inadequate' after an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which found systems to ensure patients received timely medication reviews and appropriate health care checks such as blood tests were not in place - potentially putting patients at risk.

Inspectors also found that recorded care plans were not available and checks to monitor patients prescribed high risk medicines were disorganised.

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CQC bosses said it was concerning that the surgery, which has 4,735 patients, was 'going backwards' after it was rated requires improvement following a previous inspection in November 2015.

Inspectors said there were no safeguarding policies specific to the practice while safeguarding registers for children or vulnerable adults were not maintained.

Concerns were raised about prescriptions not containing medicine review dates while information was missing from records.

Patients also reported having to wait two weeks for an appointment while the surgery building and equipment were showing evidence of wear and tear.

However it was rated as 'good' under the caring category with patients saying they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect. The national GP patient survey also found 90 per cent of patients had a 'good' overall experience of the practice.

Alison Holbourn, deputy chief inspector of general practice for the North, said it is important people who are registered with the Manchester Road Surgery can rely on getting the high quality care.

She said: "It is a matter of concern that the practice was going backwards having previously been rated as requires improvement. I expect providers should use our inspection reports to help address their problems and rectify them as a matter of urgency.

"We always inspect the quality of care for these six population groups - older people, people with long term conditions, families, children and young people, working age people, people whose circumstances may make them vulnerable and people experiencing poor mental health.

"I am very disappointed to report that the practice is rated inadequate in all six groups. These areas will need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

“Due to the concerns identified during the inspection, CQC has placed this service into special measures. It will be inspected again within six months if they are still operating. The service will be kept under review and if needed could be escalated to urgent enforcement action and if there is not enough improvement we will move to close the service."

A statement released by the surgery said they were disappointed by the CQC assessment but they accepted their recommendations and policies had been put in place to address areas of concern.

It said: "The recent survey based on ratings provided by patients on how likely they are to recommend practices ranked the Manchester Road Surgery as 12th out of 31 practices in Burnley and Pendle.

"We continue to strive to offer all our patients high quality effective and safe health care and to improve the broad range of services the practice offers."

Russ McLean, chairman of the Pennine Lancashire Patient Voices Group, said he was shocked by the report.

He said: "The impact of not getting results from blood tests is significant.

"Things like diabetes, cancer checks, various blood disorders may be missed.

"I am sure an audit will be carried out to make sure patients have not be adversely affected.

"I will be seeking assurances from the Clinical Commissioning Group to make sure no patient suffers as a result."