An Andover medical practice has celebrated after achieving a “good” rating from the care regulator.

Adelaide Medical Centre, located on the eponymous road, received the second highest mark for all areas of its service, from safety to leadership. This is an improvement from its previous inspection in February 2020, when the centre received a rating of “requires improvement” in the well-led category under previous management.

Managing partner Philip Heiden, who took over last year, told the Advertiser: “We have worked tirelessly to improve all areas of the Medical Centre and public evidence is showing that we are achieving our goal.”

Areas of improvement noted by the CQC included “improvements in governance arrangements” which addressed areas that had been raised such as management of emergency medicines, prescription stationery and recruitment risk assessments.

The report said “the way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care,” but added that the practice should “continue to improve the uptake of cervical screening.”

Adelaide Medical Centre was built in 1976, and opened shortly afterwards. It served the people of Andover for many years until February 2020, when the possibility it would close was first raised. At the time, the GPs cited increasing workload and recruiting difficulties as reasons for the closure.

It was during that month when the CQC carried out an inspection into the centre, which rated it as “good” overall, but ‘requiring improvement’ in the “well-led” category, where concerns were raised over the oversight of training for GPs and “risks surrounding some of its systems and processes.”

The practice under the former management was also noted in the inquest into the death of Alex Sartain, who shot and killed Cllr James Nash in August 2020, as having filed a letter from the community mental health team regarding Alex Sartain without it being seen by a GP in April 2020, while a review found “inappropriate advice” was given to his father, John Sartain, regarding urgent help for his son.

The practice was subsequently taken over by new partners, who have implemented a variety of changes at the practice which have led to improvements in governance, staff and patient satisfaction, and a reduction in waiting times, as well as providing new services on site.