• Ambulance service

Location Medical Services - Shepperton Studios Medical Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Shepperton Studios, Studio Road, Shepperton, Middlesex, TW17 0QD 0870 750 9898

Provided and run by:
Location Medical Services Limited

All Inspections

6 July 2023

During a monthly review of our data

We carried out a review of the data available to us about Location Medical Services - Shepperton Studios Medical Centre on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.

This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.

If you have concerns about Location Medical Services - Shepperton Studios Medical Centre, you can give feedback on this service.

19 December 2019

During a routine inspection

Location Medical Services is operated by Location Medical Services Limited. The service provides emergency and urgent care and transports patients from event sites to hospital emergency departments when necessary. The service also provides a paramedic home visiting service with a GP consortium.

We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out this announced inspection on 19 December 2019. To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask the same five questions of all services: are they safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs, and well-led?

Throughout the inspection, we took account of what people told us and how the provider understood and complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

This is the first inspection to be rated. We rated it as Good overall.

  • The service provided mandatory training in key skills to all staff and made sure everyone completed it.

  • The service controlled infection risk well. Staff used equipment and control measures to protect patients, themselves and others from infection. They kept equipment, vehicles and premises visibly clean. Vehicles were deep cleaned and swabbed for the presence of microorganisms.

  • The design, maintenance and use of facilities, premises, vehicles and equipment kept people safe. Staff were trained to use vehicles. Staff managed clinical waste well.

  • Staff kept detailed records of patients’ care and treatment. Records were clear, up-to-date, stored securely and easily available to all staff providing care

  • The service used systems and processes to safely prescribe, administer, record and store medicines.

  • The service managed patient safety incidents well. Staff recognised incidents and near misses and reported them appropriately. Managers investigated incidents and shared lessons learned with the whole team, the wider service and partner organisations.

  • The service provided care and treatment based on national guidance and evidence-based practice.

  • Staff assessed patients’ food and drink requirements to meet their needs during a journey.

  • Staff assessed and monitored patients regularly to see if they were in pain and gave pain relief advice in a timely way.

  • The service monitored and met agreed response times so that they could facilitate good outcomes for patients. They used the findings to make improvements.

  • The service monitored the effectiveness of care and treatment. They used the findings to make improvements and achieved good outcomes for patients.

  • The service made sure staff were competent for their roles.

  • All those responsible for delivering care worked together as a team to benefit patients. They supported each other to provide good care and communicated effectively with other agencies.

  • Staff gave patients practical support and advice to lead healthier lives.

  • Staff supported patients to make informed decisions about their care and treatment.

  • Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and took account of their individual needs.

  • Staff provided emotional support to patients, families and carers to minimise their distress.

  • Staff supported and involved patients, families and carers to understand their condition and make decisions about their care and treatment.

  • The service planned and provided care in a way that met the needs of local people and the communities served.

  • The service was inclusive and took account of patients’ individual needs and preferences. The service made reasonable adjustments to help patients access services.

  • People could access the service when they needed it, in line with national standards, and received the right care in a timely way.

  • It was easy for people to give feedback and raise concerns about care received. The service treated concerns and complaints seriously, investigated them and shared lessons learned with all staff, including those in partner organisations.

  • Leaders had the integrity, skills and abilities to run the service. They understood and managed the priorities and issues the service faced. They were visible and approachable in the service for staff. They supported staff to develop their skills and take on more senior roles.

  • The service had a vision for what it wanted to achieve and a strategy to turn it into action, developed with all relevant stakeholders. The vision and strategy were focused on sustainability of services.

  • Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. The service promoted equality and diversity in daily work and provided opportunities for career development. The service had an open culture where patients, their families and staff could raise concerns without fear.

  • Leaders operated effective governance processes, throughout the service and with partner organisations. Staff at all levels were clear about their roles and accountabilities and had regular opportunities to meet, discuss and learn from the performance of the service.

  • Leaders and teams used systems to manage performance effectively. They identified and escalated relevant risks and issues and identified actions to reduce their impact. They had plans to cope with unexpected events. Staff contributed to decision-making to help avoid financial pressures compromising the quality of care.

  • The service collected reliable data and analysed it. Staff could find the data they needed, in easily accessible formats, to understand performance, make decisions and improvements. The information systems were integrated and secure. Data or notifications were consistently submitted to external organisations as required.

  • Leaders and staff actively and openly engaged with patients, staff, the public and local organisations to plan and manage services. They collaborated with partner organisations to help improve services for patients.

Nigel Acheson

Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals (South and London), on behalf of the Chief Inspector of Hospitals.

1 November 2017

During a routine inspection

Location Medical Services - Shepperton Studios Medical Centre is operated by Location Medical Services Limited. The service provides emergency and urgent care and conveys patients from event sites to hospital emergency departments where clinically necessary.

We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out this announced inspection on 1 November 2017.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask the same five questions of all services: are they safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs, and well-led?

Throughout the inspection, we took account of what people told us and how the provider understood and complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Services we do not rate

We regulate independent ambulance services but we do not currently have a legal duty to rate them. We highlight good practice and issues that service providers need to improve and take regulatory action as necessary.

We found the following issues that the service provider needs to improve:

  • We found two out-of-date oxygen cylinders on one of the ambulances we inspected, and a further expired cylinder in the medical gas store. We informed the provider, who immediately removed the expired cylinders. The provider also sent written confirmation that an external contractor had audited all oxygen cylinders and removed any others that had expired or were close to expiry. The provider also introduced a daily check of oxygen cylinder dates as part of their daily vehicle checks to prevent this from happening again.

  • The provider did not have assurances all staff carrying out regulated activity had appropriate, up-to-date mandatory training in key areas. These included infection prevention and control and safeguarding children level three training for staff that treated children and young people under the age of 18.

  • The provider did not have assurances all staff carrying out regulated activity had a meaningful annual appraisal to provide ongoing assurances of their performance and competencies. Following our feedback, the provider began writing to NHS ambulance trusts where staff held substantive posts to establish a pathway to share evidence of mandatory training and appraisal.

  • Five out of seven patient records we reviewed showed gaps in documentation, including missing observations. This meant the provider had not maintained accurate, complete and contemporaneous records for all patients. Following our feedback on this issue, the provider updated their clinical documentation policy and circulated to all staff. The members of staff who had completed the records we raised concerns about also reflected on their performance and produced a reflective statement.

  • The provider had not taken sufficient action to mitigate identified clinical risks to the service. Other than client satisfaction questionnaires, there were no systems in use to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the services provided at the time of our inspection.

  • We raised concerns with the provider about the cleanliness of one of the three vehicles we inspected, as well as two pieces of equipment. The provider took immediate action to remove the equipment and vehicle in question from service, as well as producing audit tools to monitor cleanliness going forwards.

However, we also found the following areas of good practice:

  • Staff spoke positively about the culture of the service. The leadership team told us they made themselves accessible to staff at all times and encouraged a culture of openness and transparency. Staff told us they felt they could approach the leadership team at any time if they wanted to raise a concern or needed support.

  • The provider had systems to ensure they maintained vehicles to keep them roadworthy. We saw evidence all ambulances the service used to carry out regulated activity complied with MOT testing, and had valid insurance and vehicle tax.

  • We saw evidence that all medical equipment underwent annual testing and servicing by an engineer. The provider’s equipment servicing log provided assurances all equipment had passed the engineer’s inspection and testing within the last year.

  • We saw evidence of effective pre-employment checks to assess the suitability of new staff. These included Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and reference checks, and evidence of professional registration.

Following this inspection, we told the provider that it must take some actions to comply with the regulations and that it should make other improvements, even though a regulation had not been breached, to help the service improve. We also issued the provider with four requirement notices that affected the Emergency and urgent care service. Details are at the end of the report.

Amanda Stanford

Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals (South), on behalf of the Chief Inspector of Hospitals

27 February 2014

During a routine inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service. They told us they were extremely happy with the service. One person said; "I find them flexible, professional and very accommodating." Another person said; "I am very happy to continue working with them, they are a very professional service. Communication is excellent within the organisation." And; "I am very happy with the service from Location Medical Services."

We spoke with four members of staff who told us they felt well trained and supported and were very happy in their role. One said; "Brilliant organisation, the best I have worked for." Another said "I love this job." And "Managers are always available to ask advice, if I need it." Another said; "It's an open-door policy, managers are always available 24/7." "Communication is excellent." And, "We usually get our briefing instructions for the job in good time to allow us to plan."

We found that people were involved in their care and their needs were assessed and met.

The provider had taken appropriate steps to ensure people were safe from abuse. All staff received training in safeguarding. The provider had a safeguarding policy that clearly gave staff guidance on what to do if they suspected abuse was happening.

We found that staff received appropriate professional development. Staff members commented there were opportunities for progression within the service to take on a more senior role.

The provider monitored the quality of service. Vehicle checks were conducted, accidents and incidents managed and people's opinions were sought and acted upon.