2 Aug 2019
During a routine inspection
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of Med-Pol Ltd on 2 August 2019 as part of our inspection programme.
We had previously carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of the service on 14 December 2017 and found that it was not compliant with regulation 17 ‘good governance’, due to a lack of quality improvement activity. We subsequently carried out an announced focused inspection on 12 October 2018 to check whether the service had taken action to meet the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and found at that inspection that the service was compliant with the relevant regulations.
Med-Pol Ltd is an independent health service based in East London.
Our key findings were:
- The service had some systems in place to keep people safe and safeguarded from abuse, however some were not in place or were ineffective.
- There were reliable systems for the appropriate and safe handling of medicines.
- The service had systems to record and review significant events and complaints, although none had occurred in the past 12 months.
- The service reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care and treatment provided through quality improvement activity.
- The service treated patients with kindness, respect and dignity, and patient feedback was positive about the service.
- The service had a clear vision and staff stated they felt respected, supported and valued.
- There were gaps in policies and processes to support good governance and management, and a lack of clarity around processes for managing risks, issues and performance.
We identified regulations that were not being met and the provider must:
- Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients.
- Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.
(Please see the specific details on action required at the end of this report).
There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:
- Ensure all staff are clear on who is the safeguarding lead for the service, as set out in the safeguarding policy.
- Review the security arrangements for paper handwritten records and assess the issues that paper records present in terms of carrying out clinical audits and searches.
- Carry out peer reviews and record keeping checks to improve and maintain effective clinical oversight.
Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP
Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care