09/10/2018
During a routine inspection
Walsall MRI Centre is operated by InHealth Limited. Walsall MRI Centre delivers Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans to people within the setting of Walsall Manor Hospital. Walsall MRI Centre originally opened in 1998 and has recently secured a 15 year contract with a local NHS Trust. At the time of our inspection the unit had recently been refurbished to include a new layout and two new MRI scanners.
We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out an unannounced inspection on 09 October 2018.
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.
We rated this service as good overall. We rated it good for safe, caring, responsive and well-led. We do not currently rate the effective domain.
Our key findings are as follows:
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Premises and equipment were appropriate and well maintained for the service provided. The service had recently undergone refurbishment and two new MRI scanners had been purchased.
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Comprehensive risk assessments were completed for patients and their chaperones before they were permitted into the unit. These were recorded on a safety questionnaire and stored in patient records.
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Staffing levels and skill mix were planned and reviewed appropriately to ensure patients received safe care at all times.
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Electronic systems were used to enhance the delivery of effective care and treatment. Scans were stored electronically and could be accessed by staff in the host hospital to speed up diagnosis and treatment times.
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The service undertook audits to monitor the effectiveness of the scans. For May, June and July all but one scan was found to be of a good standard. From April to September 0.02% of scans completed resulted in a recall.
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Staff displayed an understanding of patients personal, cultural and religious needs.
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Staff took their time with patients and allowed them to receive care at a comfortable pace.
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Patients were allowed to have people in the scanning room with them if they wanted.
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People could book in appointments at a time or day to suit them. Appointment slots were kept free for patients in the host hospital and emergency appointments.
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The facilities were appropriate for the service that was delivered. The service had recently undergone a refurbishment and redesign and was custom built to meet the needs of staff and patients.
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The new MRI scanners were suitable for bariatric (heavier) patients with the widest scanner opening available for use in acute hospitals.
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The service met 100% of their targets for routine and urgent referrals.
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Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience, and integrity they needed to ensure the service met patient needs.
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Staff told us management were approachable and could raise any concerns they had. We observed friendly and professional interactions between management and staff.
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The service had access to both the InHealth and host hospitals computer systems. This allowed referrals to be made electronically from the host hospital and scan results be available immediately for radiologist review.
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Staff were actively engaged and told us they felt listened to. This was evident with the design of the new department.
However, there were areas where the service needs to make improvements:
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During our inspection we found medicines cupboards with the keys in which could have resulted in medicines being stolen or tampered with.
Following this inspection, we told the provider that it should make other improvements, even though a regulation had not been breached, to help the service improve. Details are at the end of the report.