The Riverside Clinic

Updated 30 September 2022

The Riverside Clinic is operated by Healthshare Diagnostics Ltd. The clinic had been registered with CQC since 2020. The clinic offered services to NHS and privately funded patients, the majority of which were adults. Children above the age of 12 were seen at the outpatient clinic before May 2022, from then onwards only young adults 16 years old and above were seen for diagnostic imaging procedures.

The Riverside Clinic has a diagnostic suite which provides magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), digital radiography (X-ray), dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), mobile imaging unit used primarily for fluoroscopic imaging (X-ray image intensifier/C-arm), and ultrasound. The service employed radiographers who were supported by a team of consultant radiologists. Ultrasound was carried out by registered sonographers and consultant radiologists.

The centre is registered with the Quality Standards in Imaging (QSI). QSI has been developed jointly by the Royal College of Radiologists and the Society and College of Radiographers and is administered by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). The diagnostic imaging department was operational from 8 am to 10 pm Monday to Saturday and 9 am to 6 pm on Sundays.

The clinic provides services for children and young people between the age of 16 and 18 years old. The service had provided outpatient services to children aged 12 and over until May 2022. However, they had stopped providing these services at the time of our inspection. Diagnostic imaging provided was magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for headaches and musculoskeletal issues. No complex scans, such as abdominal or gynaecological MRI’s were undertaken, and no contrast dye was administered to patients under the age of 18. Clinical and medical oncology services were not provided. Of the 22319 patients seen between May 2021 and May 2022 seven were diagnostic imaging and 34 were outpatients (less than 0.1%)

The endoscopy unit consists of two procedure rooms, eight recovery rooms, and a decontamination suite. The types of procedure undertaken in the past twelve months were colonoscopy (884), flexible sigmoidoscopy (123), gastroscopy (1626), gastroscopy and colonoscopy (28), endoscopic gastric balloon (38). The service provides care for adults from the local area and the majority of the work is carried out under contract from the NHS (97%).

The outpatient department comprises of seven consulting rooms for the purpose of clinical assessment, diagnostic, and surgical planning. The department is fully equipped and staffed from 8 am to 8 pm each weekday.

The Riverside Clinic has a dedicated laminar flow (UCV) theatre, anaesthetic room, and dedicated 4 bed recovery bays. The main theatre is supported by a dedicated prep area. There is also a surgical wared with eight ensuite bedrooms.

The Riverside Clinic is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide the following regulated activities:

• Diagnostic and screening procedures
• Treatment of disease disorder or injury
• Surgical procedures

We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out the inspection on 14 and 15 June 2022 and followed up with additional interviews on 21 June 2022.

This service had not previously been inspected.

The main service provided by this hospital was diagnostic imaging. Where our findings on diagnostic imaging for example, management arrangements also apply to other services, we do not repeat the information but cross-refer to the diagnostic imaging core service.

Updated 30 September 2022

This was our first inspection of the service. We rated it as good because:

• The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information. Key services were available seven days a week.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
• Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

However:

• Learning from complaints was not always shared across departments.
• There were issues with the newly implemented patient record system.

Medical care is a small proportion of hospital activity. The main service was diagnostic imaging. Where arrangements were the same, we have reported findings in the diagnostic imaging section.

Updated 30 September 2022

This was our first inspection of the service. We rated it as good because:

• The service had enough staff to care for children and young people and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect children and young people from abuse. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to children and young people, acted on them and kept good care records. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided good care and treatment. Staff worked well together for the benefit of children and young people, advised them and their families on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information. Key services were available seven days a week.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of children and young people’s individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
• Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff were focused on the needs of children and young people

However:

• The service did not have a resuscitation or deteriorating child policy in place at the time of the inspection.

Children and young people are a small proportion of hospital activity. The main service was diagnostic imaging. Where arrangements were the same, we have reported findings in the diagnostic imaging section.

We rated this service as good because it was safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well led.

Updated 30 September 2022

This was our first inspection of the service. We rated it as good because:

• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and took account of their individual needs.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of their patients, they took account of patients' individual needs and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait long for treatment.
• The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them, and kept good care records.
• Staff provided good care and treatment, they provided patients with pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients and supported them to make decisions about their care, with access to good information. Key services were available when required.
• Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities.

Updated 30 September 2022

This was our first inspection of the service. We rated the service as good because:

• There were enough qualified, trained staff to deliver safe care.
• The service managed medicines safely and followed good practice with respect to safeguarding.
• Patients had access to a wide range of specialists. Managers ensured that these staff received training, supervision and appraisal.
• Staff worked well together as a multidisciplinary team and liaised well with local and regional providers to coordinate care.
• Staff understood and discharged their roles and responsibilities under the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and understood their individual needs. They involved patients and families and carers in care decisions.
• The service was well led, and governance processes ensured clinics ran smoothly.

However:

• The service was not fully compliant with national guidance related to safe disposal of sharp waste.

Outpatients was a small proportion of hospital activity. The main service was diagnostic imaging. Where arrangements were the same, we have reported findings in the diagnostic imaging section. 

Updated 30 September 2022

This was our first inspection of the service. We rated it as good because:

• The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients. Key services were available seven days a week.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
• Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care

Surgery is a small proportion of hospital activity. The main service was diagnostic imaging. Where arrangements were the same, we have reported findings in the diagnostic imaging section.