The Care Quality Commission
  • Hospital
  • Independent hospital

Preston PET CT Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Royal Preston Hospital, Sharoe Green Lane, Fulwood, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 9HT (01772) 524100

Provided and run by:
Alliance Medical Limited

All Inspections

6 July 2023

During a monthly review of our data

We carried out a review of the data available to us about Preston PET CT Centre on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.

This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.

If you have concerns about Preston PET CT Centre, you can give feedback on this service.

13 October 2021

During a routine inspection

Our rating of this location stayed the same. We rated it as good because:

  • The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them. Staff collected safety information and used it to improve the service.
  • Staff provided good care to patients and monitored their pain. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information. Key services were available seven days a week.
  • Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
  • The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for a diagnostic procedure.
  • Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

However:

  • Learning from incidents not always widely shared to promote learning.
  • Supervisions related to incidents were not always clearly documented.
  • The service level agreement with the host NHS trust was not effective in ensuring building maintenance was completed in a timely manner.
  • Infection control risks in non-clinical areas were not given priority.

29 July 2019

During a routine inspection

Preston PET CT Centre is operated by Alliance Medical Limited. The service has been providing specialist diagnostic services since July 2007 in a purpose-built facility within a local NHS trust.

The service delivers positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) diagnostic imaging services to the Lancashire and South Cumbria region.

We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out the unannounced part of the inspection on 29 July 2019, along with an announced visit to the centre on 1 August 2019.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask the same five questions of all services: are they safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs, and well-led? Where we have a legal duty to do so we rate services’ performance against each key question as outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.

Throughout the inspection, we took account of what people told us and how the provider understood and complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

The service was last inspected in 2014 and met all the required standards. However, it was not rated under our new inspection methodology.

Services we rate

We rated it as Good overall.

We found good practice in diagnostic imaging:

  • The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service-controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good, clear and appropriate records of patients care and treatment. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them. Staff collected safety information and used it to improve the service.
  • Staff provided good care and treatment. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent for their roles. Staff worked together for the benefit of the patients.
  • Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity and took account of their individual needs. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
  • The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patient’s individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait long for treatment.
  • Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities. The service engaged well with patients and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

We found areas of outstanding practice in diagnostic imaging:

  • Feedback from patients was continually positive about staff treating them well and with kindness. Patients we spoke with told us that staff would go the extra mile to make them comfortable; the care and support they received during their procedures exceeded their expectations. For example, the centre was opened out of hours by staff in their own time for a needle phobic paediatric patient so that the patient didn’t have to wait over the weekend with a cannula in.
  • To improve on best practice, the service had recently implemented a second poster specifically aimed for the IR(ME)R operator checklist for administration of radioisotopes for molecular imaging procedures. Both posters acted as reminders for clinical staff carrying out molecular imaging procedures.
  • The service had managers to run a service providing high-quality sustainable care. The leadership, governance and culture of the service was used to drive and improve the delivery of high-quality person-centred care. Weekly goals and staff engagement were paramount in all that the service delivered; this not only enhanced patient care but it enhanced the wellbeing of the staff.
  • We saw that there was a bereavement box located in the control room. Staff told us they had a bereavement box to prepare for the event that a patient passed away whilst in the centre. Due to the nature of the diseases scanned, patients could be very poorly when they attended. The box contained, clean sheets and gowns and staff felt that by having this box readily available would help families in the bereavement process as they didn’t have to wait to obtain items for carrying out last offices from the NHS trust.

Following this inspection, we told the provider that it should make other improvements, even though a regulation had not been breached, to help the service improve. Details are at the end of the report.

Anne Ford

Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals

16 January 2014

During a routine inspection

We did not speak to any patients during this inspection. However, we viewed results of patient surveys carried out by the service over the last three months. We saw that patients expressed a very high level of satisfaction. Some additional comments were:

'All the staff were very nice and helpful.'

'I cannot praise the department too highly. At every stage the staff were friendly and professional.'

'I was very impressed with all aspects of the service.'

'It must be a challenge for staff to maintain such high levels of excellence. Every credit for doing so.'

During this inspection we assessed standards relating to the care and welfare of patients and infection control. We also looked at staff recruitment, quality monitoring and how complaints were managed. We judged the service to be compliant in all the areas we assessed.

5 September 2012

During a routine inspection

We found that this was a very well managed service providing good outcomes for people in all the areas we inspected.

We did not speak to any patients during our visit. However, we viewed a high number of survey results and comments made by patients who had used the service very recently.

We looked at the results of patient surveys and patients' comments from August 2012. 117 patients had taken part in the survey during that month and we saw that their responses and feedback were very positive.

Comments included;

'Excellent facility and care.'

'All staff very friendly and informative.'

'Thank you to a most kind and caring staff.'

'Everyone so kind and helpful.'

'Very pleasant and comforting.'

'The facility and staff could not be faulted.'

'Staff considerate and professional.'

'You have made me feel very safe and comfortable and I am very grateful for the care you have taken. Care and compassion are clearly at the core of your work. '

In discussion, the registered manager demonstrated a sound value base and a commitment to providing care and treatment that met people's individual needs. The manager spoke of the importance of providing emotional support to patients as well as safe and effective care, and had a clear commitment to ensuring that people experienced care in a way that promoted their dignity.