A Chadwell Heath GP surgery has been placed in special measures following an inspection.

Inspectors from health regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found patients were missing blood tests and being given “incorrect” prescriptions at The Grove Surgery, in Chadwell Heath Lane.

The surgery now has six months to improve after being rated as “inadequate” following CQC's visit in November last year.

Inspectors found the clinic failed to follow up hospital consultants’ requests for blood tests and had incorrectly prescribed medication for diabetes and depression.

Chief inspector of primary medical services and integrated care, Dr Rosie Benneyworth, said there were “ineffective” safety alert procedures and a lack of staff monitoring.

In her report, she wrote: “Unqualified staff coded patient records as having [had] patient reviews with no evidence of clinical staff having completed the review.

“The provider did not ensure the monitoring of patients with long-term conditions was adequate, with reference to identifying and acting upon data which would prevent any further risk to patient’s health as a result of a mis-diagnosis.”

In CQC's main inspection criteria, the surgery was rated 'inadequate' for safe and effective, and 'requires improvement' for well-led.

Practice manager Dr Zulfikar Moghul is now legally required to show he has improved the running of his clinic during a follow-up inspection in May.

According to the inspection report, the clinic serves a population of 9,600 people.

It is run by Dr Moghul, who employs three GPs, two pharmacists, a nurse and healthcare assistant.

The clinic has not responded to requests for comment.

It had been rated 'good' overall at the previous inspection in January 2017.

A spokesperson for NHS North East London Clinical Commissioning Group, which is responsible for monitoring healthcare services in the area, said: “Since receiving the CQC’s inspection report, we have been working closely with the practice team to address the significant concerns raised and ensure that an action plan is put in place as quickly as possible to make the required improvements.

“As commissioner, our priority is ensuring patients can access safe and high quality services that meet the high standards they rightly expect.”