The government's health watchdog has placed a Tunbridge Wells GP practice into special measures after a disastrous visit by inspectors.

In a report published today, the Care Quality Commission levels stinging criticism at Abbey Court Medical Centre in St John's Road over minimum level staffing and a lack of appropriate measures to safeguard the safety of patients.

The practice is run by Dr Lalta Sachdeva with the support of two locum GPs. It cares for approximately 4,300 patients.

The CQC divide their assessments into five categories. Abbey Court was handed the lowest rating of 'inadequate' for safety, effectiveness and leadership, a rating of 'requires improvement' for caring, and a 'good' rating for responsiveness.

Among other issues the report states Abbey Court breached regulations by not carrying out regular temperature checks on a fridge containing medicines as well as the improper storage of boxes used to store used needles and medical waste.

There were also problems with staffing levels, with absences caused by illness and holiday having a significant impact, while further issues were identified with supporting staff members and carrying out appropriate background checks on new starters.

Inspectors also said insufficient care was taken to monitor and record serious incidents, while confidential patient information was not being safeguarded as files were being kept in an unlocked room.

Ruth Rankine, deputy chief inspector for the south, said: "Although the patients we met told us they were treated with dignity and respect, we also found that care and treatment was not always delivered in line with best practice.

“We will continue to monitor this practice and we will inspect again in six months to check whether improvements have been made.

"I am hopeful that the practice will do what is required for the sake of its patients, but if we find that the service remains inadequate, we will consider taking further action.”

In a statement on their website, Abbey Court said they were 'shocked and disappointed' at the inspection result but action was already under way to make improvements.

The statement says: "We are taking this report and the issues raised by the CQC extremely seriously and we are doing all we can to deliver the improvements as quickly as possible.

"Although some of the areas identified for improvement are relatively simple to put right, others will be more time consuming. A detailed action plan has been devised with timescales to ensure that we meet these standards as soon as possible.

For a full copy of the CQC's report, click here. To see Abbey Court's full response, click here.