Primary Care Services and Solutions

Updated 25 April 2022

Primary Care Services and Solutions is a stand-alone aural care service which specialises in ear wax removal by microsuction or ear irrigation. Microsuction is a wax-removal technique which uses the binocular operating microscope to look straight into the ear canal and then wax is removed using a suction device at low pressure. Ear irrigation involves inserting liquid into the ear canal to flush out earwax.

Services are paid for through NHS funding under a contract with North Kirklees Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

The service operates from three different sites on a rotational basis:

Tuesday: Oaklands Health Centre, Huddersfield Road, Holmfirth HD9 3TP

Thursday: Broughton House Surgery, 20 New Way, Batley WF17 5QT

Saturday: University Health Centre, Sand Street, Huddersfield HD1 3AL

The service opening times are:

Oakland Health Centre: 9am to 2.30pm

Broughton House Surgery: 9am to 2.30pm

University Health Centre: 9am to 12midday

In addition, home visits could be arranged for housebound or very vulnerable patients.

Primary Care Services and Solutions was successful in a tendering process with North Kirklees CCG in acquiring the contract, along with two other providers in the area, to provide ear microsuction and irrigation services to adults over the age of 18 and those registered with GP practices in the local area.

The service is registered with the CQC to provide:

• Treatment of disease, disorder or injury

The service is staffed by a director who maintains overall operational and governance and oversight of the service. An advanced nurse practitioner (ANP) provides clinical oversight of the service. An additional ANP and prescribing nurse complete the team.

During our visit we interviewed staff in person and carried out a site visit to Oaklands Health Centre. We also reviewed questionnaires from staff which we sent out before the site visit.

How we inspected this service

We carried out this inspection as part of our inspection programme of independent health providers.

During our inspection we:

• Spoke with the director and a nurse at the service
• Reviewed a sample of patient care and treatment records
• Reviewed a range of policies, procedures and other evidence provided by the service
• Carried out a visual inspection of the site where services were being delivered.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?
• Is it effective?
• Is it caring?
• Is it responsive to people’s needs?
• Is it well-led?

These questions therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 25 April 2022

This service is rated as Good overall.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Primary Care Services and Solutions as part of our inspection programme for newly registered services.

Primary Care Services and Solutions is a stand-alone aural care service which specialises in ear wax removal by microsuction or ear irrigation.

The director is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Our key findings were:

• The service had been registered with CQC for 12 months but had been operational for only one month at the time of our visit. Systems for operational and clinical governance were in place.
• Staff working at the service were appropriately recruited, trained and mentored to carry out their role effectively.
• The service demonstrated flexibility in type and location of appointment which was offered to best suit patients’ needs.
• Feedback from patients following their procedure was overwhelmingly positive.
• Staff told us they enjoyed working at the service and felt supported in their role.

Although we did not identify any breaches of regulations the provider should:

• Update their registration details with the Care Quality Commission so that it more accurately reflects their service
• Update their website to ensure it contains up to date information, and provides patients with information on how to make a complaint
• Introduce documentation to evidence that equipment cleaning has taken place between patient consultations.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP
Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care