The Care Quality Commission
  • Hospital
  • Independent hospital

Archived: Kings Norton Dialysis Unit

Facet Road, Kings Norton, Birmingham, West Midlands, B38 9PT (0121) 459 9002

Provided and run by:
Fresenius Medical Care Renal Services Limited

All Inspections

22 May 2013

During a routine inspection

During our visit to Kings Norton Dialysis Unit we spoke with thirteen people who used the service from all of the three dialysis sessions that were running on the day of our visit. We also spoke with four members of staff, a visiting health professional and reviewed documents that were made available to us.

People we spoke with were generally satisfied with the care and treatment that they received although they told us that they had not always been. Timeliness of treatment was the main concern that was raised with us. One person told us, 'I wasn't happy before but quite happy now since changes have been made, especially with regards to the staff changes.' Another person told us, 'They (the staff) always have time to come to you and find out what you need. No matter how busy they are.'

We saw that people had access to information and had been involved in decisions and their care and treatment which they had consented to.

Staffing levels were adequate to meet the needs of people. New staff had recently been employed and people told us that they had confidence in them to support their needs.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. People felt they were listened to and were seeing some improvements in the way the service was run.

The report refers to the previous manager for the unit who has not yet applied to de-register with CQC. The current manager is in the process of applying to become the registered manager.

19 April 2012

During a routine inspection

At the time of our visit, a total of 104 people were receiving dialysis at the unit, across the different shifts. A maximum of 60 people used the service each day. We talked with 11 people using the service and one relative. This helped us to understand what it was like to use the service.

People told us they were very happy with the quality of the care they received from the unit. One person said 'The staff are all excellent.' Another said 'They tell you what they're doing, what they're putting into the machine.'

People told us that the unit was always clean. They also said staff were very good at washing their hands, using hand cleaning gel, wearing gloves, aprons and visors.

However, the provider had introduced some changes to the staffing at the unit. These changes brought the number of staff on duty to the level of two members of staff for every nine people receiving dialysis. The provider told us that this was in line with national recommendations. This meant that there were fewer staff on duty than there had been previously. People who were treated in the unit in the afternoons and evenings told us these changes meant their treatment sessions were starting and ending later than before. For some people, particularly if they needed to use patient transport, this meant they were not getting home until very late.

Some people said they had not had any formal communication from the provider about this change, such as a letter. One relative told us they had written to the provider about the change but had not yet had a response.