A GP surgery has been told it must improve after health inspectors found it has been facing “significant staffing issues”.

Willow Tree Family Doctors in Stag Lane, Kingsbury, was rated ‘requires improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after an inspection last summer.

In a report published on Friday (May 10) looking at four of the five criteria used by the health watchdog to assess performance, the surgery’s services were rated ‘good’ for safety and effectiveness.

But inspectors said that the practice's leadership and responsiveness to people’s needs required improvement.

The GP surgery was found to have faced “significant staffing issues for several months”, which had a negative impact on governance, communication and staff wellbeing.

Inspectors acknowledged that the practice had recently recruited more reception staff.

The practice, which is part of a network of GP surgeries run through Harness North Primary Care Network, was also found to have not been holding regular clinical staff meetings.

The CQC also advised Willow Tree to take action to increase patient participation in cervical screening and improve appointment access.

Despite these issues, inspectors said that the practice had improved its system for managing medicines since a previous inspection in August 2022.

The report also highlighted progress in managing patients with long-term conditions as well as the uptake of childhood immunisations.

Inspectors added: “The practice was innovative in its use of technology and an early adopter of the ‘digital first’ approach to appointments.”

The CQC did not rate how “caring” the GP’s services are, meaning that the previous rating of “good” is carried forward.

Willow Tree Family Doctors and Harness North Primary Care Network have been approached for comment.