Newmedica Community Ophthalmology Service

Updated 8 November 2023

Newmedica Community Ophthalmology Service is operated by Northamptonshire Newmedica Limited. The service started operating in March 2022. The Newmedica Group is commissioned by NHS organisations to provide ophthalmology services (clinical eye care) for mainly NHS patients.

The service also offers private patients access to services which accounts for a smaller part of their activity. The service is registered to provide the following regulated activities:

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

All surgery undertaken by the service is adults only, providing day case, ophthalmology surgery under local anaesthesia. There are no overnight patient stays. The ophthalmic team consists of:

• Ophthalmology consultants
• Optometrists
• Registered nurses
• Clinic assistants
• Theatre technicians
• Administration staff.

Support services are provided from a central team, this includes NHS commissioning, contract management, finance support, governance and policies, IT systems and marketing.

The location had a registered manager who had been in post since the location opened and was first registered with CQC in March 2022.

From October 2022 to September 2023, the service undertook 3,268 surgical procedures. The majority of these patients were seen as part of the cataract surgery pathway or for glaucoma treatment.

The main service provided at this location was surgery with the majority of outpatient appointments being provided as part of the surgical pathway. We did not inspect the outpatient services separately as part of this inspection as the main service was surgery.

This was our first inspection of this location.

Updated 8 November 2023

This is the first time we inspected this 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 generally controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They generally 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, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information. Services were available 7 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:

• At the time of the inspection, there was no alcohol gel available when entering the theatre environment, this was rectified following the inspection.
• We saw 1 member of staff wearing a necklace in the theatre environment and 1 member of staff not wearing a face mask correctly. Both were addressed on the day.
• We found medicines in theatre were not stored safely in locked cupboards when staff were not in the area. When we raised this, they were locked away and staff made aware.

Updated 8 November 2023

We rated it as good see the summary above for details.