The Bridgeway

We carried out an announced focused inspection of healthcare services provided by G4S Health Services (UK) Limited (G4S) at The Bridgeway on 3 January 2020.

The purpose of this inspection was to determine if the healthcare services provided by G4S were now meeting the legal requirements and regulations under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008. We found that improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of the regulations.

We do not currently rate services provided in sexual assault referral centres.

Background

In Cumbria, services for the support and examination of people who have experienced sexual assault are co-commissioned. The contract for the SARC is managed by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner with aligned funding input from NHS England commissioning to provide medical examinations and care. The contract for the provision of sexual assault referral centre services in Cumbria is held by G4S Health Services (UK) Limited (G4S). G4S is registered with CQC to provide the regulated activities of diagnostic and screening procedures, and treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

The Bridgeway is located within Penrith hospital in central Cumbria. Penrith is a small town within a rural part of Cumbria, with reasonable transport links throughout the county, although some patients may still have long journeys to access the centre.

We last inspected the service in May 2019 when we judged that G4S was in breach of CQC regulations. We issued Requirement Notices on 22 July 2019 in relation to Regulation 17, Good Governance and Regulation 18, Staffing, of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

The report on the May 2019 inspection can be found on our website at:

https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-2418837598

This inspection was conducted by one CQC health and justice inspector.

Before this inspection we reviewed the action plan submitted by G4S to demonstrate how they would

achieve compliance, and a range of documents submitted by G4S. We also reviewed information provided by NHS England commissioners.

We visited the location on 3 January 2020 and spoke with the manager and coordinator responsible for training. During this visit we reviewed training records and evidence related to the areas we had made recommendations for improvement in July 2019.

At this inspection we found:

• Staff were effectively trained to carry out their duties.

• Staff training records were available, complete and monitored effectively.

• Patient records included information where children had capacity to consent to examination or treatment themselves.

• The centre now had prompt access to two experienced paediatric examiners.

• A male examiner was now available to attend the Bridgeway, where feasible, within forensic timescales.

• All incidents were now reported and reviewed systematically.

• A new records audit process had been embedded.

• The service continued to build on partnership working to improve services for people who had experienced sexual violence.

We carried out this announced inspection on 14 and 15 May 2019 under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We planned the inspection to check whether the registered provider was meeting the legal requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations. The inspection was carried out by two CQC inspectors.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• Is it caring?

• Is it responsive to people’s needs?

• Is it well-led?

These questions form the framework for the areas we look at during the inspection.

Are services safe?

We found that this service was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this service was not providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

At the time of the inspection, records of staff training were not available and the provider could not give assurance that staff had completed appropriate training to ensure patient care was effective and safe. Records provided after the inspection demonstrated not all staff had completed mandatory training.

Are services caring?

We found that this service was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive to people’s needs?

We found that this service was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that this service was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.