8 November 2021
During a routine inspection
This service is rated as Good overall.
The key questions are rated as:
Are services safe? – Good
Are services effective? – Good
Are services caring? – Good
Are services responsive? – Good
Are services well-led? – Good
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Re:Cognition Health Limited on 8 November 2021 as part of our inspection programme. This was the first inspection of this service.
Re:Cognition Health provides a consultant-led outpatient service to assess and, if necessary, treat adults and children aged three and above for a range of neurological conditions. The service provides neurology, psychology and psychiatry assessments and treatment. This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. Re:Cognition Health also provides medicolegal services and runs clinical trials which are not within CQC scope of registration. Therefore, we did not inspect or report on these services.
The Chief Executive Officer of the company is also 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.
We reviewed seven feedback forms and spoke with seven patients.
Our key findings were:
The service provided safe care. The service had clear systems to keep people safe and safeguarded from abuse. Staff appropriately assessed and managed risks to patient safety.
The service controlled infection risk well. Staff used equipment and control measures to protect patients, themselves and others from infection. They kept equipment and the premises visibly clean.
The service had enough staff with the right qualifications, skills, knowledge, training and experience to keep patients safe from avoidable harm and to provide the right care and treatment.
Staff developed holistic care and treatment plans informed by a comprehensive assessment in collaboration with patients. Care and treatment were planned and delivered in line with current legislation and best practice guidance produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and suitable to the needs of the patients.
Leaders ensured that staff received training and appraisals. Staff worked well together.
Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They actively involved patients in all care decisions.
The service was easy to access. Patients were able to access care and treatment from the service within an appropriate timescale for their needs. The service took complaints and concerns seriously and responded to them appropriately to improve the quality of care.
The service was well led, and the governance processes ensured that procedures relating to the work of the service ran smoothly. The provider had a clear vision for improving the service and promoting good patient outcomes.
However, for two patients the healthcare professional had not uploaded the clinical record to the organisation’s electronic record system.
The audit programme for the service was not robust, whilst some audits had been completed, such as health and safety and infection prevention and control, the service had not carried out audits on prescribing, clinical records, consultations and referral decisions. The service was aware of this issue and action plans were in place to make improvements.
The areas where the provider should make improvements are:
- The service should ensure that all patient records are available on the organisation’s electronic record system in line with the organisation’s record keeping policy and procedures.
- The provider should ensure they have access to, and oversight of, the cleaning records of their sub-contractor.
- Leaders should ensure they have assurance and oversight of the performance of their service. Regular audits of prescribing, clinical records, consultations and referral decisions should be embedded within the service.
Jemima Burnage
Interim Deputy Chief Inspector Hospitals (Mental Health)