A STRUGGLING chain of GP practices which has a branch in Whiston has been told it must show “sustained improvement” by the end of the year or it risks losing its contract.

Aston Healthcare, which looks after 25,000 patients across six branches in Knowsley borough, has been heavily criticised over the past two years for a series of failures that local councillors warned could result in a patient’s death.

Aston's practices include one at Whiston Primary Care Resource Centre on Old Colliery Road, Whiston.

The practice was taken over in February by the Maassarani Group, which operates several other GP practices in Knowsley and has been keen to stress the improvements in patient care it has made at Aston in the last six months.

But at a meeting of Knowsley Council’s health and social care scrutiny committee on Tuesday evening, the group was told it could still face sanctions without more improvement.

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Dianne Johnson, chief executive of Knowsley’s clinical commissioning group (CCG), acknowledged that there had been improvements and a significant reduction in complaints about Aston, but said there was still some way to go for the practice.

She said: “We have been working with the practice and they have been making changes.

“What we were looking for, though, was that changes were made and embedded and sustainable and we are not seeing that.”

Ms Johnson pointed to the fact that large numbers of patients had left the practice over the past year, particularly the over-65s, along with its very poor rating in recent Healthwatch patient surveys and a number of contract breaches since the new management took over in February.

She added: “We will look to see that this practice should have improved by the end of this calendar year.

“At the end of the day, we need to see sustained and embedded improvements for the people with this provider and if we don’t we will have to take measures in the contract up to and including termination.”

However, representatives from Aston rejected this characterisation of the practice and accused the CCG of failing to engage with them.

Lee Panter, one of the practice’s new directors, said: “Since February, for whatever reason, the CCG haven’t worked with us one bit, they haven’t been in a supportive role.”

Another of Aston’s managers, Erika Howell, outlined improvements that had taken place since February, including the hiring of new clinical staff and the resolution of health and safety concerns across Aston’s estate.

Dr Faisal Maassarani, Aston’s new owner, told councillors the new management had been “walking through treacle” to solve the practice’s problems and had presented a positive, “forward-looking” plan.

However, he said, this would take time to implement, likening the situation to a new manager taking over at Liverpool FC.

He said: “Liverpool FC has existed for a long period of time and managers have come in and it’s taken time to see results.”

In contrast, he said, the CCG was being “negative and punitive”, adding: “I worry that a narrative is being put before you to terminate Aston’s contract”.

Earlier in the meeting, Dr Maassarani had stressed that Aston’s patient list accounted for around a fifth of the borough’s population. He said: “If the practice implodes, the people of Knowsley suffer.”