30 April 2019
During a routine inspection
This service is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection December 2017).
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? – Good
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at MASTA Travel Clinic - Bristol 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.
MASTA Travel Clinic – Bristol is a private clinic providing travel health advice, travel and non-travel vaccines, blood tests for antibody screening and travel medicines such as anti-malarial medicines to children and adults. In addition, the clinic holds a licence to administer yellow fever vaccines.
This location is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, (the provision of advice or treatment by, or under the supervision of, a medical practitioner, including the prescribing of medicines for the purposes of travel health) but not all, of the services it provides. There are some general exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of service and these are set out in Schedule 2 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. At MASTA Travel Clinic - Bristol services are provided to clients under arrangements made by their employer with whom the servicer user holds a policy (other than a standard health insurance policy). These types of arrangements are exempt by law from CQC regulation. Therefore, at MASTA Travel Clinic - Bristol we were only able to inspect the services which are not arranged for clients by their employers whom the client holds a policy (other than a standard health insurance policy.
During the inspection we reviewed five completed CQC comment cards which described the service as efficient and staff as caring, efficient, knowledgeable and respectful.
Our key findings were:
- The clinic had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the provider learned from them and improved their processes.
- The provider routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence based guidelines and up to date travel health information.
- Each client received an individualised travel health brief containing a risk assessment, health information including additional health risks related to their destinations and a written immunisation plan specific to them.
- Staff involved and treated clients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. Care Quality Commission comment cards completed by clients prior to our inspection were all positive about the standard of care received.
- There was a leadership structure in place with clear responsibilities, roles and systems of accountability to support good governance and management. Staff felt supported by the leadership team and worked well together as a team.
- The provider was aware of the requirements of the duty of candour.
The areas where the provider should make improvements are:
- The provider should consider photographic identification checks for adults with parental responsibility in order to ascertain correct identity.
- The provider should review policies in line with their renewal dates.
Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGPChief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care