Thomas Linacre Centre

Ratings - Outpatients

• Overall

  Good

• Safe

  Good

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Good

• Well-led

  Requires improvement

Our view of the service

As part of the comprehensive assessment of the Thomas Linacre Centre, we inspected outpatients at the location on 6 and 7 January 2026. Outpatients comprise the main regulated service, although works in conjunction with the diagnostic imaging services at the location, particularly through the activity of its breast service.

Outpatients is organised into various suites that each host a number of medical specialisms which include breast, colorectal, respiratory, cardiology, urology and ear, nose and throat (ENT), amongst others. As such, the location is attended by medical staff on a visiting basis only, but nursing, allied health professionals and ancillary staff generally have a permanent base at the service.

Outpatients also comprise a suite dedicated to children and young people’s clinics and an antenatal suite. We inspected the premises and spoke to some staff from these areas, but ratings in these cases are determined by the services for children and young people and maternity assessments as part of the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary location.

We rated outpatients as good. The service ensured staff had the information needed to deliver safe care and had a proactive safety culture. Care was provided by competent and compassionate staff who continually assessed their performance to improve outcomes.

However, the adult outpatients service lacked clear local or divisional strategic objectives and leaders were not always sufficiently accessible or engaged with staff, which had affected culture and morale. Business continuity plans did not sufficiently consider the risks and mitigations of long-term absences of senior adult outpatients staff. There was also insufficient governance of medical devices at the location, meaning some equipment had significantly exceeded its intended service date.

Because of the concerns above relating to governance, the service was in breach of regulations. An action plan will be requested upon publication of the final report.

People's experience of this service

During the assessment we spoke with patients who provided broadly positive feedback about the service. We observed clinics with patients’ consent, to be able to evidence whether patients were receiving a good level of care.

Many patients had been using services at the location for a long time and described staff as “lovely” or “pleasant” and said they “explained everything well”. A small number of patients were unhappy about the length of their wait to be seen on the day. Other patients told us that they expected to receive a more unified experience as they transitioned between different services although were still “very happy with the staff” in the main.

We did not identify any inequalities of people’s experience in line with their protected characteristics at this assessment.