InHealth Reporting

Updated 25 July 2022

InHealth Reporting is operated by InHealth Reporting Limited, providing teleradiology services for referring organisations who undertake this work on behalf of the NHS and independent providers including reviewing and reporting; computerised tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images. The location’s referring organisations are a mix of NHS and independent health scanning services.

The service also provide radiographers to undertake plain film reporting for other providers, which is outside the scope of this inspection.

Teleradiology is the transmission of patients’ radiological images between different locations to provide a primary report, expert second opinion or clinical review. The service has no direct contact with patients and does not provide direct patient care. The service reported on images for adults only. At the time of the inspection there was a nominated individual in place, but the service did not have a registered manager. A newly appointed member of staff was in the process of completing their application to become registered manager but at the time of the inspection this had not been submitted to the commission.

The service is registered to carry out the following regulated activities: Diagnostic and screening procedures.

The location had not been inspected since its registration on 10 November 2020 and this was the first time the service had been inspected and rated. We inspected the service using the Diagnostic Imaging core reporting service, teleradiology framework.

Updated 25 July 2022

This was the first inspection for InHealth Reporting. We rated it as requires improvement because:

• The service did not have enough staff to provide a safe service.
• The referring organisations did not always receive their reports within the agreed time frame.
• The mitigations in place regarding risk to the service were not always effective.
• Development of the service’s governance process was required to ensure they were safe and effective.

However,

• Staff had training in key skills, understood how to identify abuse, and managed safety well. Staff assessed risks, acted on them and kept good records. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them. Staff collected safety information and used it to improve the service.
• The provider had systems to ensure reporting radiologists who provided services had appropriate equipment installed.
• Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure clinical staff were competent. There were escalation processes for unexpected and significant findings. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients and had access to good information.
• Referring organisations could access the service when they needed it.
• 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. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with their referring organisations and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

Updated 25 July 2022

This is the first time we have rated this service. We rated it as requires improvement.

See the summary above for details