Alliance Medical Harley Street

Updated 28 April 2022

The European Scanning Centre is a private diagnostic imaging service operated by European Scanning Centre (Harley Street) Limited. The service opened at its current location in December 2009. European Scanning Centre is a private diagnostic imaging service and primarily services the communities of Greater London (with some national and international referrals).

The service is owned and operated by European Scanning Centre (Harley Street) Limited, the registered provider with CQC. European Scanning Centre (Harley Street) Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alliance Medical Limited (AML). AML registered with the CQC in July 2015.

At the time of inspection, the service had a new centre manager who was responsible for running the service on a day-to-day basis. They were supported by a range of clinical staff including radiologists and radiographers. The centre manager was in the process of applying for registration with the CQC as the registered manager.

European Scanning Centre were leaseholders for the building at 68 Harley Street, London, W1G 7HE. The clinical areas in the centre are split over three floors, (basement, ground and first floor). The basement houses the computerised tomography (CT) scanner and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) open scanner. The ground floor housed the EOS scanner. The centre provides a range of diagnostic and screening procedures including: cardiac, lung disease, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, osteoporosis, neurological, and gynaecological. The service occasionally provides scoliosis scans for children and young people, (scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine that most often is diagnosed in adolescents).

The service also provides services for private patients and patients referred from the NHS through clinical commissioning groups (CCG) or GPs.

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

The service is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm. Appointment times for MRI are generally held between 8am to 6pm. Patients are seen by appointment only. The service provided CT on alternate Saturdays between 8am and 6pm.

The service was last inspected in 2019 and was rated requires improvement.

Updated 28 April 2022

Our rating of this location improved. We rated it as good because:

• The centre had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe.
• The centre provided mandatory training in key skills to all staff.
• Staff understood how to protect patients from abuse, were trained on how to recognise and report abuse, and they knew how to apply it.
• The centre had suitable premises and equipment and looked after them well.
• Staff completed and updated risk assessments for each patient and kept detailed records of patients’ care and treatment.
• Staff provided kind and compassionate care to patients. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients. Staff supported patients to make decisions about their care.
• Staff respected patients’ privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions.
• Patients could access the service when they needed it and did not have long waits for diagnostic imaging procedures.
• Managers promoted a positive culture that supported and valued staff, creating a sense of common purpose based on the company’s shared values. Staff felt respected, supported and valued and were focused on the needs of patients.

However,

• The service did not manage patients’ medicines well. The medicines management policy did not detail adverse effects and double checking of glycerine trinitrate (GTN), or the procedures for the administration of patient specific drugs (PSD). The service did not have a system of regular medicines administration audits. PSD drug administration lists were not fully completed and clear about patients prescribed medicines.
• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificates were not always in accordance with the provider’s policy.
• Some of the centre’s policies had not been reviewed in accordance with the published review date.
• There was a lack of clarity on whether European Scanning Centre or Alliance Medical UK Limited (AML) were responsible for shared risks on the risk register.

Updated 17 June 2019

Diagnostic imaging was the only activity the service provided.

We rated this service as requires improvement because improvements were required for safe, and well led.

Updated 28 April 2022

Our rating of this service improved. We rated it as good because:

• Staff engaged in clinical audit to evaluate the quality of care they provided.
• Managers ensured staff received training, supervision and appraisal.
• Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well.
• Staff had access to the full range of specialists required to meet the needs of patients.
• Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and staff worked well together for the benefit of patients.
• Facilities and premises were appropriate for the services being delivered.
• Staff worked well together as a multidisciplinary team.
• Staff understood and discharged their roles and responsibilities under the Ionising Radiation Medical Exposure Regulations (IRMER).

However, we also found:

• The medicines management policy did not detail adverse effects and double checking of glycerine trinitrate (GTN), or the procedures for the administration of patient specific drugs (PSD). The service did not have a system of regular medicines administration audits. PSD drug administration lists were not fully completed and clear about patients prescribed medicines.
• Staff Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificates were not all held in accordance with the provider’s policy.
• Bank and agency staff were provided with printed copies of policies and procedures. There was a risk that staff may not have the most up to date versions of policies and procedures.

There was a lack of clarity whether European Scanning Centre Limited or Alliance Medical Limited (AML) owned and were responsible for shared risks on the risk register.