Archived: Urgent Care Centre (RUH)

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Urgent Care Centre, RUH on 28 February and 1 March 2017. The service was rated requires improvement for providing safe services. The overall rating for the service was good. The full comprehensive report on the 28 February and 1 March 2017 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Urgent Care Centre, RUH on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This inspection was an announced focused inspection carried out on 12 December 2017 to confirm that the service had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breach in regulation that we identified in our previous inspection on 28 February and 1 March 2017. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and also the additional concerns that were identified.

Overall the service is now rated as Requires Improvement

Our key findings were as follows:

• Systems that were in place for checking of medicines and equipment were not operating effectively.
• Not all staff had received chaperone training and management were unaware of this.
• Not all staff had received performance appraisals.

There were areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

Importantly, the provider must:

• Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to service users.
• Ensure that systems and processes are established and operating effectively to support good governance.
• Ensure that staff have received appropriate appraisal.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at the Urgent Care Centre, Royal United Hospital on 28 February and 1 March 2017. Overall the service is rated as requires improvement.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for recording, reporting and learning from significant events.
• Patients care needs were assessed and delivered in a timely way according to need. The service had difficulties meeting two of the national quality requirements and had completed remedial action plans to improve this in November 2016.
• Staff assessed patients needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• There was a system in place that enabled staff to access patient records, and the out of hours staff provided other services, for example the local GPs and hospital, with information following contact with patients as was appropriate.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.

• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.

• Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.

• The service worked proactively with other organisations and providers to develop services that supported alternatives to hospital admission where appropriate and improved the patient experience.
• The service had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs. The vehicles used for home visits were clean and well equipped.

• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The service proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.

• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

• Following a recruitment and retention drive undertaken in the summer of 2016, flexible academic and face to face training pathways were designed in collaboration with a local university.

The area where the provider must make improvement is:

• Establish and operate an effective system to check, manage and mitigate the risks associated with the emergency equipment and medicines.

The area where the provider should make improvement is:

• The provider should undertake and record appraisals every 12 months or ensure that regular performance reviews for all staff members are completed.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice