A beleaguered health centre has begun to show signs of improvement two months after it was placed in special measures.

The move came after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated Iwade Health Centre, in Monins Road, “inadequate” in August.

However, since the management of the practice switched to DMC Healthcare on September 1 it has made good progress.

Swale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) came to a mutual agreement with the previous provider, Malling Health, to terminate its contract early as a result of the CQC’s damning findings.

Gail Locock, chief nurse of Swale CCG, said: “We are extremely pleased to hear that patients and their families are accessing an improved service run by DMC Healthcare.

"Jointly with the patient participation group and the practice team, we are still listening to and acting upon any remaining concerns and would encourage patients to continue sharing their views.

“We are in the early stages of commissioning this contract and fully recognise that sustainable changes take time.

"However, we are encouraged with the pace of progress so far, achieved in part through close partnership working and regular monitoring of quality and patient experience levels. Satisfaction amongst patients, measured through the Friends and Family Test for September saw 85% of patients completing the survey, all with positive responses.”

She added: “Two doctors are now based at the surgery, a senior manager is on site daily and the right levels of experienced medical and support staff are working to ensure the practice runs smoothly and can respond swiftly to patients’ needs.

“Through DMC’s recruitment to key posts including an advanced nurse practitioner, practice paramedic and specialist heart nurse we are further assured the service will continue to deliver safe, high quality care for local people.”

When CQC inspectors visited the practice in June, they also found staff were unsure who had responsibility for running the service, and that appropriate recruitment checks had not been done before staff were employed.

There were also insufficient processes to ensure the “proper and safe management of medicines” and end-of-life care was not “effectively co-ordinated”.