- Independent hospital
Practice Plus Group Hospital - Emersons Green
Assessment report published 20 October 2026
Contents
Ratings - Diagnostic imaging
Our view of the service
We carried out an unannounced, comprehensive two-day assessment on 30 June and 1 July 2026.
We carried out the assessment as the provider had not been inspected under our new methodology. The service was last inspected in 2016 where the service was rated good in all key questions across all assessment service groups, except effective, which was not rated under our previous methodology.
Safe:
The imaging service demonstrated a good standard of safe care across most areas and was characterised by a positive safety culture, effective incident reporting, strong safeguarding arrangements, robust staffing levels, and good infection prevention and control practices. Staff were well trained, empowered to raise concerns, and learning from incidents was shared across the service to drive improvement. The environment, equipment, medicines management and risk assessment processes generally supported the safe delivery of care. However, there were some shortfalls in safe systems and pathways, including gaps in information provided to some patients prior to contrast scans. While these issues did not appear to impact patient outcomes, they indicated areas where governance and care pathways required strengthening.
Effective:
The service provided effective, person-centred care and treatment, with staff assessing and responding to people’s individual health, wellbeing and communication needs. Care was delivered in line with national guidance and evidence-based practice, supported by strong multidisciplinary working, good consent processes and effective support for patients to manage their health. However, monitoring of outcomes required improvement, including an overdue Radiation Protection Adviser visit. Overall, most areas were good, with opportunities to strengthen outcome monitoring and governance arrangements.
Caring:
The service provided compassionate, person-centred care and treated people with dignity, kindness and respect. Staff tailored care to meet individual needs, promoted independence and choice, responded promptly to concerns and distress, and supported people to access services and information in ways they could understand. Patients were overwhelmingly positive about their experiences, describing staff as caring, professional and supportive. Staff wellbeing was also prioritised, contributing to a positive culture and the delivery of consistently good care.
Responsive:
The service delivered responsive, person-centred care that was tailored to individual needs and supported choice, inclusion and continuity of care. Staff worked closely with patients, carers and partner services to ensure care was coordinated, accessible and flexible, with good use of communication aids, translation services and reasonable adjustments. Patients were actively involved in decisions about their care, feedback was welcomed and acted upon, and waiting times and access to diagnostic services were well managed. However, the service did not always provide appropriate written information before CT scans involving contrast, which limited the quality of information available to some patients. Overall, the service demonstrated good responsiveness, with a minor shortfall in the provision of information.
Well-led:
The service was led by visible and supportive leaders who promoted an inclusive, positive culture focused on high-quality patient care. Staff felt valued, engaged and able to contribute to service improvement, and there was a strong commitment to learning, innovation and partnership working. However, governance arrangements required strengthening, with some outdated radiation governance documentation, gaps in committee oversight and mixed confidence in Freedom to Speak Up processes. Overall, the service was well led, with good leadership and culture, but some governance systems required improvement.
We found 1 breach of regulation at the service in relation to good governance.
We have requested an action plan, which will be requested upon publication of the final report.
People's experience of this service
Patient experience is generally reported as positive, with high satisfaction rates and feedback indicating care meets patient needs and achieves good clinical outcomes. Services were designed to provide a streamlined, person-centred elective pathway, supported by modern facilities and a focus on efficiency and recovery.
Overall: Emersons Green functions as a high-volume elective surgical centre with strong performance in meeting regulatory standards, efficient patient pathways, and consistently positive feedback, though its scope is limited to planned care rather than acute or emergency services.
As part of our assessment, we spoke with patients and their family or carers. We spoke with 4 patients. All told us they had positive experiences and highlighted the short wait times. Patients told us they received all the information they needed before the scan, and all staff were knowledgeable, friendly, and professional. All patients told us they were treated with kindness and compassion.