Atlantic Clinic Ltd

Updated 2 November 2018

Atlantic Clinic Ltd provides private medical services predominantly to meet the needs of the local Polish population within the Southampton area. A range of services are provided which include obstetrics and gynaecology, orthopaedics, paediatrics, GP services, psychiatry, dermatology and dentistry. Dental services are provided from the first floor only.

The service employs four staff which includes a receptionist, a dental nurse and a practice nurse. There is also a practice manager. Doctors and dentists who provide services to patients are not employed by the service but are contracted to deliver services on a sessional basis.

The service is open from 9.00am to 8.30pm from Monday to Sunday. The premises include several consulting rooms, treatment rooms and offices located over two floors of the building. The first floor is accessed via a flight of stairs only.

There is a responsible individual who represents the provider Atlantic Clinic Ltd and there is a practice manager who 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.

The Atlantic Clinic Ltd is located at:

Unit 4, Mountbatten Business Centre,

Millbrook Road East,

Southampton

SO15 1HY

We carried an announced comprehensive inspection at the Atlantic Clinic Ltd on 30 August 2018. Our inspection team was led by a CQC Lead inspector. The inspection team included a GP specialist advisor, dental nurse specialist advisor, a practice manager specialist advisor and a Polish Interpreter.

Prior to the inspection, we reviewed a range of information we hold about the service, such as the inspection reports from January and June 2016, any notifications we had received, and the information provided from the pre-inspection information request.

During our visit:

• We spoke with the registered manager, the senior doctor and a member of the services reception team.
• We looked at equipment and rooms used for providing treatment.
• We reviewed records and documents.

To get to the heart of patients’ 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 2 November 2018

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 30 August 2018 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 care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

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

Are services well-led?

We found that this service was providing well-led care 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.

The services are provided to adults and children privately and are not commissioned by the NHS.

The service is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. The Atlantic Clinic Ltd is registered with CQC to provide the regulated activities of Diagnostic and screening procedures, Treatment of disease, disorder or injury, Family planning and Surgical procedures. The types of services provided are doctor’s consultation service and doctor’s treatment service.

At the time of our inspection a registered manager was in place. 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.

We received 12 completed CQC comment cards from patients who used the service. Feedback was very positive about the service delivered at the clinic.

Our key findings were:

• Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure

people's safety and welfare.

• All treatment rooms were well-organised and well-equipped.
• Clinicians regularly assessed patients according to appropriate guidance and standards, such as those issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
• Staff were up to date with current guidelines and were led by a management team.
• Staff maintained the necessary skills and competence to support the needs of patients.
• There were effective systems in place to check all equipment had been serviced regularly.
• The provider was aware of, and complied with, the requirements of the Duty of Candour.
• The provider had an effective system for ensuring the identity of patients who attended the service.
• Risks to patients were well-managed. For example, there were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection.
• Patients were provided with information about their health and received advice and guidance to support them to live healthier lives. This was provided in both Polish and English.
• Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• Systems and risk assessments were in place to deal with medical emergencies and staff were trained in basic life support.

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

• Review the threshold for recording significant events and discuss at clinical meetings
• Review how clinical meetings are held and information disseminated to all clinical staff in the clinic.