PH Medics Limited

On this page

• Overview
• Learning culture
• Safe systems, pathways and transitions
• Safeguarding
• Involving people to manage risks
• Safe environments
• Safe and effective staffing
• Infection prevention and control
• Medicines optimisation

We looked for evidence that people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm.

This is the first inspection for this service since its registration with CQC. This key question has been rated as Good.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. They listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice.

People felt supported to raise concerns and felt the provider treated them with compassion and understanding. The provider had processes in place to report incidents, near misses and safety events. There was a system to record and investigate complaints, and when things went wrong, the provider apologised and gave people support. Learning from incidents and complaints resulted in changes that improved care for others. For example, after a blood test that was sent to the laboratory was lost, new checking systems were initiated to ensure that samples were easier to trace and follow up.

The service worked with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care, in which safety was managed or monitored. They made sure there was continuity of care, including when people moved between different services.

There were systems in place for processing information relating to new patients. The service worked with other providers, including the patients’ NHS GPs (if consent was received) to deliver shared care. Referrals and test results were managed in a timely way.

The service worked with people and healthcare partners to understand what being safe meant to them and the best way to achieve that. They concentrated on improving people’s lives while protecting their right to live in safety, free from bullying, harassment, abuse, discrimination, avoidable harm and neglect. The service shared concerns quickly and appropriately.

Safeguarding policies were in place; the doctor and administrator were appropriately trained in safeguarding procedures.

The service worked with people to understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. They provided care to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them.

Emergency equipment was available and maintained. The provider could recognise a deteriorating patient and knew of action to take. Patients were advised on risks related to their condition and actions to take if their condition deteriorated.

The service detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care.

The service hired a room within a large pharmacy which was well maintained. Cleaning was carried out by the service and schedules were in place to ensure that this was done appropriately. Health and safety risk assessments and audits had been undertaken and risks identified had been addressed. There was a business continuity plan in place which was monitored and reviewed.

The service made sure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff, who received effective support, supervision and development. They worked together well to provide safe care that met people’s individual needs.

At the time of this assessment, the service was very small, seeing between zero and five patients daily. and it was appropriately managed by the provider. Policies and procedures, including a recruitment policy was in place for when the time came to employ more staff. The service was looking at employing a manager within the next few months and were appropriately preparing for this recruitment process.

The service assessed and managed the risk of infection. They detected and controlled the risk of it spreading and shared concerns with appropriate agencies promptly.

The service had a designated infection, prevention and control lead and all relevant training had been completed. Cleaning schedules were in place and followed. Although they hired a room within the pharmacy they ensured that all risk assessments and audits were completed, and actions taken to mitigate risks. This included legionella testing which we found up to date.

The service made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. They involved people in planning, including when changes happened.

The provider involved people in reviews of their medicines and helped them understand how to manage their medicines safely. People knew what to do and who to contact if their condition did not improve or they experienced any unexpected symptoms. The provider received regular training, were competency was assessed on medicines optimisation, through their NHS practice. They felt confident managing the storage, administration and recording of medicines. The provider managed prescription stationery appropriately and securely. The provider followed protocols to ensure they prescribed all medicines safely, and ensured people received all recommended medicines reviews and monitoring. The service did not hold any medicines or vaccines but would request them from the on-site pharmacy when needed. Any waste medicines handed in by patents were recorded and disposed of appropriately. The provider stored medical gases, such as oxygen, safely and completed required safety risk assessments. The provider had effective systems to manage and respond to safety alerts and medicine recalls. The provider followed established processes to ensure people prescribed medicines with specific risks received recommended monitoring. The provider took steps to ensure they prescribed medicines appropriately to optimise care outcomes, including antibiotics.

Our review of patient records showed that medicines had been appropriately prescribed and the correct pathways followed. There was a programme of regular clinical audits of prescribing that focused on improving care and treatment. For example, the provider retrospectively reviewed their practice in the service to evaluate the appropriateness, safety and compliance of antimicrobial prescribing with national guidelines in order to improve stewardship. One hundred and ninety six consultations were reviewed between March 2023 and January 2026, of this 98 consultations were relevant to the audit. It was found that all consultations were documented correctly and prescribing was appropriate. Although the results showed good compliance, a plan was put in place to reinforce the documentation of reason for prescribing, the duration, route and dose of the antimicrobial prescription. A plan was in place to undertake a further audit to ensure that the service was maintaining compliance and adhering to best practice.