A closed Carlton medical surgery, where a healthcare assistant posed as a doctor and carried out internal examinations, has been repossessed.
The Willows Medical Centre on Church Street was closed in June by the Care Quality Commission, leaving about 4,000 patients needing to seek treatment elsewhere.
The practice served people in Carlton, Gedling Village and Mapperley and had one full time doctor and a GP locum with 3,600 patients registered.
All patients have had to register and receive care from other local surgeries since the closure.
The CQC shut the practice after a healthcare assistant was found to be listed as a doctor and was allowed to carry out tests including internal examinations.
NHS England and Nottingham North & East Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) received a formal resignation from Dr Sylvester Nyatsuro – who ran the practice – in relation to his GP contract in August.
Councillors who met at County Hall on Tuesday were told by CCG officials the premises was “placed in receivership” from Dr Nyatsuro last month and will be auctioned off “shortly”.
Councillor John Clarke, leader of Gedling Borough Council, asked health bosses if “alarm bells” had been ringing over Dr Nyatsuro – after the councillor read a Daily Mail article earlier this year, which alleged Dr Nyatsuro’s involvement in a dispute over land in Zimbabwe.
Hazel Buchanan, from the CCG, said the article’s contents relate to a “wholly different issue” and “not whether Dr Nyatsuro was qualified as a GP or not”.
As a result of the surgery’s closure, patients were advised to contact Peacock Healthcare in Carlton Hill, Park House Medical Centre on Burton Road or Netherfield Medical Centre.
Ms Buchanan said the “majority” of patients went to Park House and Peacock – which has resulted in the closure of Peacock’s list for three months, which means no more patients can register there.
About 1,000 patients are still registered with The Willows, but Ms Buchanan said there is “more than enough capacity” for the remaining patients, who she said will be contacted by the CCG to inform them of the latest developments.
Councillors were told a review is taking place with the CCG, NHS England and the CQC next month to identify what lessons can be learned from the case.
Speaking when the CQC report was published in August, Dr James Hopkinson, clinical lead for the NHS Nottingham North & East Clinical Commissioning Group responsible for commissioning the practice, said he was “shocked” by the report’s findings.
He said: “We are sorry that the patients served by the Willows Medical Centre have been let down in this way.
“As commissioners, we also feel let down by this practice.
“What has happened is an unacceptable breach of trust and the standards of care we expect for our patients.”
