Eastbourne Healthcare Partnership

Updated 11 June 2019

Eastbourne Healthcare Partnership Limited is the registered provider of services carried out at the location Eastbourne Healthcare Partnership. Eastbourne Healthcare Partnership Limited was formed in 2007. The company was set up as a joint venture between Apollo Centres for Health and Princes Park Medical Practice to provide clinical services from a primary care location to meet the needs of the local adult population and to avoid unnecessary delays in diagnosis and treatment experienced via secondary care.

We carried out an inspection of Eastbourne Healthcare Partnership. Regulated activities provided at this location are carried out by registered radiographers and provide diagnostic and screening services to patients referred to them from local primary care services. This includes x-rays and DXA scans (dual energy x-ray absorptiometry used to measure the density of the bone).

Services are carried out from:

Wartling Road, Eastbourne, BN22 7PF.

The service also branches proving ultrasound and DXA scans at Seaford Medical Centre and Station Plaza Hastings (DXA). We did not visit these locations during this inspection.

The practice is located on the same site as a local GP practice and the service is open five days a week, Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 8pm. Occasional Saturday morning services are provided based on demand.

The service has two qualified radiographers working variable hours, a healthcare assistant and a team of reception staff. The practice also uses locum radiographers when required. The registered manager is also the practice manager of the GP practice located next door who is supported by a reception manager. Staff at the location are supported by additional clinical and administration staff from the GP practice.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 28 May 2019.

Prior to the inspection we gathered and reviewed information from the provider. There was no information of concern received from stakeholders. During our visit we:

• Spoke with staff based at the practice including one of the radiographers, healthcare assistant, reception manager and registered manager.
• Reviewed comment cards where patients shared their views and experiences of the service.
• Looked at documents the practice used to carry out services, including policies and procedures.
• Reviewed patient survey results.
• Spoke with patients at the service.

To get to the heart of patient’s 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 on 28 May 2019 to ask the service the following key questions; are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found that this service was providing safe services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this service was providing effective services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found that this service was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found that this service was providing responsive services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that this service was providing well-led services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the service was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Eastbourne Healthcare Partnership provide diagnostic and screening services to patients referred to them from local primary care services. This includes x-rays and DXA scans (dual energy x-ray absorptiometry used to measure the density of the bone).

The practice manager of the GP practice based next to the location 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.

As part of our inspection we asked for CQC comment cards to be completed by patients prior to our inspection. We received two comment cards which were both positive about the service that had been provided. We spoke with three patients who told us they had received a very good service from the provider.

Our key findings were:

• Patients were treated with dignity and respect and the service was delivered in a person-centred way.

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and a system in place for reporting and recording significant events. However, actions taken to respond to health and safety risk assessments were not always documented.

• Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills and knowledge to deliver effective care and treatment.

• Information about services and how to complain was available both in the service in the form of a leaflet and on the service website.

• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The service proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted upon.

• Patients using local GP practices received direct access to the service. The prompt reporting on imaging procedures resulted in timely access to information for patients and clinicians.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Consider the access arrangements for children to the main waiting area and the implications for staff child safeguarding awareness.
• Review the recording systems for health and safety risk assessment actions to demonstrate actions have been completed within appropriate timescales.
• Keep the training matrix under review to ensure staff training is updated in a timely manner including the fire evacuation/drill update.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care