New providers have stepped in to run a doctors' surgery after the health watchdog took urgent action to remove its registration amid fears of patients being at risk.

Medway Medical Group is now overseeing the operation of the Stonecross and West Drive practices in Chatham.

The Gillingham-based organisation is providing cover for about 9,000 people on the books after the Care Quality Commission inspectors suspended registration

The organisation's head of inspections, Neil Cox, said: “Following an inspection on August 5, CQC has taken urgent action to suspend the registration.

"We took this action because we believe if we didn’t, patients using the service may be exposed to the risk of harm.

"The provider has the right to appeal and further information will be published by the CQC when we are able to do so."

The Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group, which manages healthcare across the county, has confirmed patients can still access care in the same way after a new provider stepped in.

Sukh Singh, NHS Kent and Medway Director of Primary Care, said: “GP services at Stonecross and West Drive Surgery in Chatham are now being provided by the Medway Medical Group.

“The planned change was accelerated by NHS Kent and Medway following the CQC suspending the work of the previous provider to ensure patients continued access.

“Medway Medical Group has been looking after patients since Friday 12 August and are working with NHS Kent and Medway to prioritise the issues highlighted by the CQC.”

A statement from Medway Medical Group said: "We are looking forward to working with patients to improve issues highlighted by the recent CQC inspection.

"Although they have enjoyed working at the practice and feel privileged to have served the local community, Dr Rao and Dr Chitgopker were planning to retire for the past two years but delayed their retirement due to the Coronavirus pandemic, they retired on 12 August 2022.

"We apologise that we were not able to make this announcement earlier but priority had to be given to making sure patients continue to receive the care they needed. We have kept the patient participation group informed about the changes and will continue to do so."

Patients at the practice in Luton described the situation as "chaos" on Wednesday.

The Medway Medical Group offers general medical services across two locations in Gillingham.

'We took this action because we believe if we didn’t, patients using the service may be exposed to the risk of harm...'

The CQC carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Stonecross and West Drive Surgery over two days in August 2019. The overall rating for the practice was "requires improvement".

The provider then drew up an action plan outlining how it would make the necessary improvements to comply with the regulations.

This was followed up with an announced visit to both surgeries in August 2021 to confirm the legal requirements in relation to the identified breaches outlined in the previous inspection had been met.

The practice was rated "inadequate" overall, placed into special measures and issued warning notices.

The latest CQC report says approximately 8,721 patients are registered at the surgery.

If you have any questions about this change please email the surgery on stonecross.surgery@nhs.net.