Connect Health Limited

Updated 24 June 2021

Connect Health Limited has one registered location based in Newcastle where regulated activities are managed from. This is the Head Office incorporating the call centre and staff here manage calls and signpost patients to the correct service. The address is;

The Light Box

Quorum Business Park

Benton Lane

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Tyne and Wear

NE12 8EU

https://www.connecthealth.co.uk/

Patients are seen at locations nationally in venues such as GP practices/health centres/acute trusts and gyms. Services are also delivered from five Connect Health Limited managed sites which are landlord owned. Four of these sites are in Lincolnshire and one in Hemel Hempstead. We visited the registered location only at this inspection due to Covid-19 restrictions. The registered location is predominately non clinical office space including a call centre and physio line. There is one clinical room that is used for occupational health services provided for Connect Health staff.

Connect Health Limited is an independent provider of integrated community MSK (musculoskeletal) and physiotherapy services in the UK (including orthopaedics, pain, rheumatology, well-being) serving over 350k NHS patients per year. Physiotherapy services are outside the scope of regulation under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and as such, we did not inspect them.

Connect Health Limited treats patients of all ages. Connect Health Limited provides a specialised Community Pain Management Service (CPMS). The pain service offers patients appointments that are accessible offering patient choice across different sites, resources to support and sustain self-help, access to a multidisciplinary team (including physiotherapists, psychologists, nurses, doctors, pharmacists and occupational therapists), and integration with other community physical and mental health providers including voluntary sector groups.

Connect Health Limited’s rheumatology service provides patient appointments close to home. This service provides aspects relating to the management of long-term conditions, comprehensive assessment of health risks including heart disease, stroke, risk of breaking a bone and access to a range of exercise classes designed specifically for people with arthritis. The service has a dedicated call team Monday – Friday between 8.30am– 5pm.

Connect Health Limited has seen a substantial growth in its business offering in the last year. The provider employs a range of staff including doctors, nurses, call handlers, administrative staff and management.

Connect Health Limited is registered with CQC for the regulated activities of Treatment of disease, disorder or injury, Diagnostic and screening procedures, Transport services, triage and medical advice provided remotely,

Connect Health Limited works closely with primary, community, third sector and secondary care partners using local guidance and pathways.

How we inspected this service

We gathered and reviewed information prior to the inspection from stakeholders, provider information returned to us, questionnaires and notifications received from patients about the service.

During the inspection methods we used were, we interviewed staff via teams calls, reviewed documents and made observations during the site visit.

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 24 June 2021

This service is rated as Good overall and Outstanding for the well-led key question. (At the previous inspection (04/2018 to 05/2018) the service was not rated due to Care Quality Commission’s methodology at that time but found to be compliant in all key questions)

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? – Outstanding

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Connect Health Limited. This was as part of our inspection programme as Independent Health services were previously unrated.

This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. There are some exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of regulated activities and services and these are set out in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Connect Health Limited provides physiotherapy services, which are not within CQC’s scope of registration. Therefore, we did not inspect or report on these services.

The Director of NHS Services 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.

At this inspection we found:

• The service had good systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When they did happen, the service learned from them and improved their processes.
• The service routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
• Staff involved and treated people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patients were able to access care and treatment from the service within an appropriate timescale for their needs.
• The leadership, management and governance of the organisation assured the delivery of high-quality and person-centred care, supported learning and innovation, and promoted an open and fair culture. They responded to incidents and learned lessons that they shared across the organisation, for example with the implementation of a new clinical governance structure.
• We found very high levels of staff satisfaction and confidence in their seniors.
• Leaders collaborated with external partners in order to improve their service.
• Leaders demonstrated that they were committed to improving patient care, they had set up a quality improvement group and had a strong focus on staff training and development.
• The provider had a strong focus on continuous improvement and innovation, with the aim of improving the quality of the services they delivered.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care