SG Radiology and Associates Limited

Updated 12 April 2019

SG Radiology Associates Ltd is operated by SG Radiology Associates Ltd .

The service opened in October 2013 and provides a mobile Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan service for NHS and self-funded patients.

SG Radiology Associates Ltd operates as an ‘any qualified provider’ (AQP) providing GP and or NHS trust support. The service provides a fully managed clinical service offering magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning and reporting and is commissioned by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), NHS trusts and independent health organisations. It also operates as a private provider of a scanner on a day rental or block booking basis.

The mobile units provide services in community settings as well as on hospital sites. The service headquarters are based in Wakefield and the service covers a large geographical area which includes community and or hospital based services in and around; Liverpool, Cumbria, Leeds, Hull, Lincolnshire and Manchester. The service is provided from four mobile units which travel to the commissioning area.

The service is registered with CQC to provide diagnostic and screening procedures.

The clinic’s registered manager Chris Tickle has been in post since October 2018.

Updated 12 April 2019

SG Radiology Associates Ltd is operated by SG Radiology Associates Ltd.

We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out a short notice announced inspection on the 5 and 6 February 2019.

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.

Services we rate

We rated this service as Good overall.

We found good practice in relation to:

• The service provided mandatory training in key skills to all staff and made sure everyone completed it.

• Staff understood how to protect patients from abuse and when to contact other agencies to do so.

• The service had suitable premises and equipment and looked after them well.

• Staff completed risk assessments for each patient.

• The service had enough staff with the right qualifications, skills, training and experience to keep people safe from avoidable harm and to provide the right care and treatment

• The service provided care and treatment based on national guidance and evidence of its effectiveness, monitored the effectiveness of care and treatment and used the findings to improve them.

• The service made sure staff were competent for their roles and staff worked together as a team to benefit patients.

• Staff understood their roles and responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and in relation to informed consent.

• Staff cared for patients with compassion and provided emotional support to patients to minimise their distress. Feedback from patients confirmed that staff treated them well and with kindness.

• Staff involved patients and those close to them in decisions about their care and treatment.

• The service planned and provided services in a way that met the needs of local people.

• The service took account of patients’ individual needs and people could access the service when they needed it. Waiting times from referral to treatment and arrangements to admit, treat and discharge patients were in line with good practice

• The service investigated incidents and complaints, learned lessons from the results, and shared these with all staff.

• The service had a vision for what it wanted to achieve and workable plans to turn it into action.

• Managers across the service promoted a positive culture that supported and valued staff, creating a sense of common purpose based on shared values.

• The service collected, analysed, managed and used information well to support its activities, using secure electronic systems with security safeguards.

• The service engaged well with patients, staff, the public and local organisations to plan and manage appropriate services, and collaborated with partner organisations effectively.

• The service was committed to improving services.

However, we also found the following issues that the service provider needs to improve:

• We did not see any evidence that staff hand hygiene or cleanliness of the mobile units was audited.

• The service did not have a system in place for receiving and cascading medical device alerts or patient safety alerts from the Central Alerting System to staff.

• There were indications that there may be some under-reporting of incidents which meant there were missed opportunities for learning and improvement.

• Local Rules were not available for staff reference at the point of care.

• The service did not have a consistent process of their own for dealing with language needs as they could access interpreting services when situated at a hospital site but not when at a community site.

• Although the service identified risks well, planned to eliminate or reduce them, and cope with both the expected and unexpected, there was not a framework around this to help with consistent management, documentation of mitigations or easy oversight and review.

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

Ellen Armistead

Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals (North Region)

Updated 12 April 2019

We rated this service as good overall with ratings of good for safe, caring, responsive and well-led. CQC does not rate effective for diagnostic imaging services. There were areas of good practice and a small number of things the provider should do to improve. Details are at the end of the report.