We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 16 January 2018 to ask the service the following key questions; are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led? We planned the inspection to check whether the registered provider was meeting the legal requirements within the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations.
This was a joint dental and medical inspection of an independent healthcare service.
Our findings were:Are services safe?
We found that this service was not providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations. We have told the provider to take action (see full details of this action in the enforcement actions at the end of the report).
Are services effective?
We found that this service was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Are services caring?
We found that this service was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Are services responsive?
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 not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations. We have told the provider to take action (see full details of this action in the enforcement actions at the end of the report).
Background
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the service was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Phoenix Medical Clinic is an independent provider of GP and Dental services owned by Phoenix Medical Clinic Ltd. The provider also offers a range of specialist services and treatments such as facial aesthetics, and ultrasound to people on both a walk-in and pre-bookable appointment basis. The service does not offer NHS treatment.
The clinic is registered with the CQC to provide the following regulated activities:
- Diagnostic and screening procedures
- Surgical procedures
- Treatment of disease, disorder and injury
- Family Planning
A full range of dental care including extractions is provided by the service.
Summary of findings
The medical services includes:
- gynaecology;
- internal medicine defined as, dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases
- treatment for ear, nose and throat conditions;
- orthopaedics;
- Psychiatry and
- Diagnostic tests.
The clinic provides two regular GPs, four regular dentists, two gynaecologists, a general surgeon and an ultrasound technician. A clinic manager and one clinic administrator manage the clinic.
The clinic manager is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
The Nominated Individual for the service is also the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the CQC to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the service is run.
We received feedback about the service from 18 patients. All comments were positive and indicated the service was accessible; patients had confidence in the doctors and dentists and felt involved in planning their care and treatment. They also told us they felt listened to and supported by staff and had sufficient time during consultations to make an informed decisions.
Our key findings were:
- The clinic was clean and mostly well maintained. The floor in the dental treatment room had worn and had small gaps that could make effective cleaning difficult.
- The clinic had infection control procedures, which mostly reflected published guidance.
- The clinic had some systems to help them manage risk. At the time of the inspection, they did not have a risk assessment to manage the risk of Legionella on the premises. This was arranged immediately following the inspection.
- Medicines and life-saving equipment were available to manage medical emergencies. Some recommended equipment and medicines was not available at the time of the inspection.
- The clinic had thorough staff recruitment procedures.
- The clinical staff provided patients’ dental care and treatment in line with current guidelines.
- Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
- The appointment system met patients’ needs.
- The clinic asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
We identified regulations that were not being met and the provider must:
- Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care. Particularly, in relation to equipment and medicines in case of emergencies, safe storage of medicines and patient care records.
There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:
- Review the clinic’s infection control procedures and protocols with reference to guidelines issued by the Department of Health - Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: Decontamination in primary care dental practices and have regard to The Health and Social Care Act 2008: ‘Code of Practice about the prevention and control of infections and related guidance’
- Review information sharing with the patient’s NHS GP with reference to guidelines in Good Medical Practice highlighted by the General Medical Council (GMC).
Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP Chief Inspector of General Practice