Updated 4 July 2017
We do not currently rate independent community specialist providers.
Lymphoedema Specialist Services (LSS) are a small independent company who employed two fulltime members of staff and provided services on behalf of the NHS.
LSS are registered to provide diagnostic and screening services, treatment of disease and disorder and transport services. During this inspection, we inspected treatment of disease and disorder as this is the regulated activity the service is currently providing.
We found:
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While we found staff to be open and transparent and were able to describe incidents, LSS did not report any incidents or near misses in the last twelve months. We raised this with the registered manager (RM) who acknowledged that further training might be required to embed this through the service.
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Staff were aware of their responsibility to safeguard vulnerable adults and children. While the RM was not trained to safeguarding level three at the time of the inspection, we saw evidence that this had been achieved following the inspection, providing an appropriate level for a service that can treat children.
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Risks to patients were adequately assessed and reviewed, and we found that staff were aware of processes to follow in the event of clinical emergencies.
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Staff were actively engaged in activities to monitor and improve quality and outcomes to patients.
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Patients were involved and encouraged to be partners in their care and in making decisions, with any support they need. Staff spent time talking to patients and those close to them. They were communicated with and received information in a way that they could understand. Patients understood their care, treatment and condition. Patients and staff worked together to plan care and there was shared decision-making about care and treatment.
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Services were planned and delivered in a way that mets the needs of the local population. The importance of flexibility, choice and continuity of care was reflected in the services. People’s individual needs and preferences were central to the planning and delivery of tailored services. The services were flexible, and provided choice andcontinuity of care.
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The leadership was knowledgeable about quality issues and priorities, they understood what the challenges were and took action to address them. The service was transparent, collaborative and open with all relevant stakeholders about performance.
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LSS were aware of their risks; and had a risk register in place, however not all of the risks had a risk rating.
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The vision had been developed and staff knew of the importance of quality and compassion in the treatment of their patients.
The service proactively engaged with, involved all staff and ensured that the voices of all staff were heard and acted on.