Background to this inspection
Updated
11 June 2019
The London Screening Centre is based at 129 Harley Street, London, W1G 6BA. The service’s website is:
The service provides pre-employment health checks commissioned by private companies for people over the age of 18. Fees are paid by the recruiting company. Services provided include, well women and well men checks. Cervical smears, medical consultations and x-rays, are carried out by an external company or through the NHS.
Consulting hours are 11am-5.30pm, Monday to Friday for booked appointments only. When the service is closed, patients are directed to other services.
The provider rents two rooms on the ground floor of a Victorian house. Several other healthcare services are based in the building, and there is a shared reception, waiting room and toilets. The area is well served by public transport.
Our inspection team was led by a CQC lead inspector, with a GP specialist adviser.
Before the inspection we reviewed notifications received from and about the service, and a standard information questionnaire completed by the service. During the inspection, we received feedback from people who used the service, made observations, and reviewed documents.
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
11 June 2019
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The London Centre on 9 May 2018 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions.
This inspection was an announced comprehensive inspection which we undertook on 24 April 2019 to confirm that the provider had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the issues identified in our previous inspection on 9 May 2018. This report found that the service had made improvements and is rated as good overall.
You can find the reports of our previous inspections by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The London Screening Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
The London Screening Centre is a private doctors consultation service for adults delivered by a sole practitioner. The service mainly provides pre-employment health checks commissioned by private companies. On average, the provider sees 10 patients per week.
London Screening Centre is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 to provide the regulated activities: diagnostic and screening procedures.
The provider 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.
We received five Care Quality Commission comment cards from patients who used the service; all were positive about the service experienced and reported that the service provided high-quality care.
Our key findings were:
- There was a comprehensive set of policies and procedures governing all activities.
- There was a complaints procedure in place and information on how to complain was readily available.
- Systems and processes were in place to keep people safe. The provider had undertaken adult and child safeguarding in line with intercollegiate guidance.
- The service had systems to manage risks, including a clear system to manage significant events and safety alerts.
- The provider was aware of current evidence based guidance and they had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out his role.
- The service’s chaperones had received training and had a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check undertaken by the provider.
- Comments cards indicated that patients were treated with compassion, kindness, dignity, and respect.
- The service carried out appropriate referrals to patients’ GPs when additional treatment was required.
- The service had systems in place to collect and analyse feedback from patients.
The areas where the provider should make improvements are:
- Explore opportunities for quality improvement activity within the service.
- Confirm the location of emergency equipment within the building.
- Ensure all patients are asked for consent to share details of their consultation with their registered GP.
Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP
Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care