Turner Diagnostic Centre

Updated 10 October 2019

Turner Diagnostic Centre is operated by Alliance Medical Limited. The service opened in 2002 and was previously called Alliance Medical Limited the ‘Colchester Alliance MRI Unit’. The service became the Turner Diagnostic Centre in April 2018 and commenced seeing patients from a new, purpose build diagnostic centre. It is a private service in Colchester, Essex and also has contracts in place to see NHS patients from the local area. The service primarily serves the communities of the East Suffolk, North Essex and surrounding areas. It also accepts patient referrals from outside this area.

The centre has had a registered manager in post since January 2011.

Updated 10 October 2019

Turner Diagnostic Centre is operated by Alliance Medical Limited. The service offers a range of diagnostic imaging procedures. Facilities include two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners and a positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET-CT) scanner. Magnetic resonance imaging is a type of scan using magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the body. Positron emission tomography–computed tomography uses radioactive material to obtain detailed images of the body to aid diagnosis of disease.

The service provides a diagnostic imaging service for patients aged 17 years and over who required a CT or PET-CT scan and MRI scanning (offered for patients aged 0+ years). We inspected diagnostic imaging.

We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out the unannounced part of the inspection on 3 July 2019, along with a short notice announced visit to the centre on 9 July 2019 when a PET-CT clinic was in progress.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask the same five questions of all services: are they safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs, and well-led? Where we have a legal duty to do so we rate services’ performance against each key question as outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.

Throughout the inspection, we took account of what people told us and how the provider understood and complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

The only service provided by this centre was diagnostic and screening procedures.

Services we rate

This is the first time we have rated this service. We rated it as Good overall.

We found good practice in relation to diagnostic imaging:

• The service provided mandatory training to staff. Staff demonstrated compliance with mandatory training compliance rates.
• Staff understood and could describe actions to take to protect patients from abuse.
• The service controlled infection risk well.
• Staff completed and updated risk assessments for each patient.
• The service had enough staff with the right qualification to keep patients safe.
• Patient medical records were securely stored and accessible in a timely manner.
• The service reported and managed patient safety incidents well.
• The service provided care based on national guidance.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, whilst respecting their privacy and dignity.
• The service was planned and delivered in a way that met the needs of local people. People could access the service when they needed it.
• Leaders had the integrity, skills and abilities to run the service.
• The service had a vision for what it wanted to achieve and a strategy to turn it in to action.
• Staff felt respected, supported and valued. There was an open culture at the service.
• Leaders operated effective governance processes and worked collaboratively with other organisations.

However, we also found:

• Staff lacked knowledge around the meaning of the duty of candour.

Following this inspection, we told the provider that it should make three improvements, even though a regulation had not been breached, to help the service improve. Details are at the end of the report.

Heidi Smoult

Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals

Updated 10 October 2019

Turner Diagnostic Centre provides positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging for NHS, private patients and self-funding patients. The service sees patients from Essex and surrounding areas. The service had sufficient suitably trained staff, was visibly clean, met the needs of local people and had effective governance systems and processes in place.