Cobalt Health

Updated 9 June 2026

We carried out an unannounced, comprehensive assessment on 18 and 19 March with follow up remote interviews on 26 March 2026. The assessment looked at Diagnostic imaging which we have rated as Outstanding.

We carried out the assessment as the provider had not been inspected fully under our new methodology, although we did carry out a responsive, focussed inspection in 2024 where the service was rated Good in all key questions except responsive which was rated Outstanding.

Cobalt Health provides diagnostic imaging services to patients across Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester as part of their 3 counties NHS contract. Cobalt health also provides Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) imaging at both the Gloucester CDC and Dudley CDC. Cobalt also provides lung screening services across Manchester, Hull, North Lincoln and Goole, and Luton and Thurrock. The service also provides a small number of scans privately.

The Cobalt Imaging Centre in Cheltenham opened in 2006. The centre provides Positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET/CT) (a nuclear medicine technique), Computed Tomography (CT), 1.5 T and 3.0 T Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) (medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body), ultrasound and digital radiography. The service also provides a fleet of 14 mobile MRI and CT scanners plus 1 relocatable and 1 mobile PET/CT scanner which were located in various regions across the UK.

Between January 2025 and December 2025, across all sites, Cobalt Health provided 90280 scans across all modalities.

The service provides diagnostic imaging services for people over the age of 18 plus some limited services for children under the age of 18. Between May 2025 and April 2026, the service performed 380 scans for children, which equated to 0.004% of imaging done overall.

We visited the clinical imaging centre in Cheltenham and The Gloucester Quays community diagnostic centre.

Cobalt Health also provides consultation rooms for orthopaedic surgeons and neurologists to facilitate a one-stop service for outpatients, with diagnostic imaging carried out during the consultation.

Cobalt Health has another registered location in Birmingham called The Institute of Translational Medicine Imaging Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH). This has its own registration and was not inspected as part of this assessment. This service was last inspected in June 2022 and rated Requires Improvement.

Updated 16 July 2025

We carried out an unannounced, comprehensive two-day assessment on 18 and 19 March with follow up remote interviews on 26 March 2026.

We carried out the assessment as the provider had not been inspected fully under our new methodology, although we did carry out a responsive, focussed inspection in 2024 where the service was rated Good in all key questions except responsive which was rated Outstanding.

Safe:

The service had an excellent learning culture and people could raise concerns. Managers investigated incidents thoroughly and sought new ways to identify themes and trends. People were protected and kept safe. Staff understood and managed risks. The facilities and equipment met the needs of people, were clean and well-maintained and any risks mitigated. There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience. Managers made sure staff received training and regular appraisals to maintain high-quality care. Staff managed medicines well and involved people in planning any changes.

Effective:

People were involved in assessments of their needs. Staff reviewed assessments taking account of people’s communication, personal and health needs. Care was based on latest evidence and good practice and where possible, research conducted by the service led to real, positive changes in practice. People always had enough to eat and drink to stay healthy. Staff worked with all agencies involved in people’s care for the best outcomes and smooth transitions when moving services. They monitored people’s health to support healthy living. Staff made sure people understood their care and treatment to enable them to give informed consent. Staff involved those important to people and took decisions in people’s best interests where they did not have capacity.

Caring:

People were always treated with kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy and dignity. They treated them as individuals and supported their preferences. Staff went above and beyond to ensure where possible, all patients received the best imaging possible, and supported them, alongside other partners, such as GPs, to achieve this. People had choice in their care. Staff responded to people in a timely way. The service supported and provided extensive staff wellbeing initiatives.

Responsive:

People were involved in decisions about their care. The service provided information people could understand. People knew how to give feedback and were confident the service took it seriously and acted on it. The service viewed all patient feedback as an opportunity to learn and improve. The service was easy to access and worked to eliminate discrimination. People received fair and equal care and treatment. The service worked to reduce health and care inequalities through training and feedback. The service also provided free cancer scans to those who needed them. People were involved in planning their care and understood options around choosing to withdraw or not receive care.

Well-led:

Leaders and staff had a clear, shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and trust. Leaders were visible, knowledgeable and supportive, helping staff develop in their roles. Leaders made sustainability and future planning to ensure the viability of the service was a top priority. Staff felt supported to give feedback and were treated equally, free from bullying or harassment. People with protected characteristics felt supported. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities. Governance and risk management was understood and comprehensive. Managers worked with the local community to deliver the best possible care and were very receptive to new ideas and actively sought to develop and enhance services where they saw gaps. There was a strong culture of continuous improvement with staff empowered and given time and resources to try new ideas.

We did not identify any breaches of regulation during our assessment.

Updated 4 March 2024

Date of assessment 11 March to 28 March. We undertook the assessment following information received from staff on the restructuring of personnel for the service.

We assessed a total of 5 quality statements from the safe, 2 quality statements from caring and 3 from well-led and found areas of good practice. The scores for these areas have been combined with scores based on the key question ratings from the last inspection.

Through assessing these 10 quality statements, our overall rating remains good.

We found that the provider had clear safeguarding processes that staff were aware of. The environment was clean and well maintained with good infection, prevention and control practices. Machinery and equipment used in the location was maintained to a high standard and a safety first culture was promoted.

We saw evidence that patients' needs and preferences were included in the planning of treatment and the service performed allergy and safety checks.

Staff we spoke with stated that they felt supported and respected and there was a strong emphasis on training, developing skills and participation in research. There were human resources process in place to ensure new starters were appropriately trained and experienced. There was management overview of skill mix and numbers of staff to ensure the safe running of the service.

Leaders provided responses to feedback and staff stated that they felt listened to. Governance processes included the availability of a freedom to speak up guardian and staff stated that they felt involved in the management of the company. Leaders were described as visible and approachable.