A GP surgery, which serves almost 2,000 patients, has been deemed unsafe and must improve or face closure.

Ash Tree Surgery on Fobbing Road, Stanford-le-Hope, was visited by the Care Quality Commission in January.

Following an inspection, the health watchdog has now released its report confirming the surgery is ‘inadequate’ and has been placed in special measures.

The damning report found there was not an effective safeguarding policy for vulnerable adults, there was an insufficient supply of medicine in the event of an emergency, and patients on “high risk” medication were being made to wait months for blood tests.

Professor Steve Field, chief Inspector of General Practices at the commission, said: “The practice had processes in place to monitor high risk medicines, however we found the system was ineffective to ensure all patients were having regular reviews.

“We reviewed patients being prescribed Methotrexate and found two patients who had not had a blood test within the last three months and two patients who had been given a blood test form but had not had their bloods taken.”

The report also found that no risk assessments has been carried out.

Professor Field continued: “We found systems and processes lacked oversight and governance and as a result the practice had not identified areas of risk within the practice.

“For example, no risk assessments had been carried out. These included a fire risk assessment, health and safety assessment and a Control of Substances Hazardous to Health assessment.”

The surgery treats 1,939 patients and is managed by the lead GP, Dr Kim Chueng.

When the surgery was previously visited by CQC back in December 2014, they were given a grade of ‘Good’. However, standards have since slipped and the surgery has now been given the poorest rating the commission can deliver.

Although the surgery was recognised as achieving expected standards in some areas, such as responsiveness and care, they were scorned in others, including safety and leadership.

Dr Chueng was contacted for comment but has been unable to provide one.