Southend PET-CT Centre

Updated 29 November 2021

Southend PET-CT Centre was run by Alliance Medical Limited. NHS England had selected a Collaborative Network, to provide PET/CT scanning services. Alliance Medical Limited was the lead service of the collaborative network.

Southend PET-CT Centre scanned their first patient in 2017 and they have grown significantly since then. They were seeing 13 patients a day initially, which had risen to between 16 and 19 a day in 2021.

Southend PET-CT Centre offered positron emission tomography- computerised tomography (PET-CT) scanning services. PET-CT scans combines a CT scan and a PET scan. A PET scan uses a mildly radioactive tracer to show up areas of the body where cells are more active than normal. They also offered Computerised Tomography (CT) scanning, a CT scan combines a series of X-ray images taken from different angles around the body. CT scan images provide more-detailed information than plain X-rays.

The centre offered scanning services 7.30am-7.30pm 7 days a week. They provided scanning service for both NHS and private referrals for adults over the age of 18.

The centre was a modular building on the site of Southend University Hospital.

The service had a registered manager in post and was registered for diagnosis and screening procedures. The centre had not been previously inspected.

Updated 29 November 2021

This was the first time we had 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. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them. Staff collected safety information and used it to improve the service.
• Staff provided good care to patients. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients and had access to good information. Key services were available seven days a week.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs. 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 a diagnostic procedure.
• 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 to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

However:

• The service did not have control and oversight of the environmental cleaning.

Updated 29 November 2021

This was the first time we had inspected this service. We rated it as good.

See the summary above for details