Archived: Crystal Palace Sports Injury Centre

Updated 7 January 2022

Crystal Palace Sports Injury Centre has been operating since July 2017 from its registered premises at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, Ledrington Road, London SE19 2BB. It is registered by the Care Quality Commission to provide the regulated activities diagnostic and screening procedures and treatment of disease, disorder or injury. The clinic occupies the ground and first floor and is accessible at street level. The clinic has consultation rooms, treatment rooms, a patient waiting area, a gym, changing facilities and staffing areas.

The clinic provides pre-bookable appointments for adults and children (over the age of 16) for sports related concerns, injuries and advice. Initial consultation physiotherapy appointments are 45 minutes, follow up appointments are 30 minutes and appointments with the sports and exercise medicine consultant are 30 minutes.

Following an initial triage, patients would either be treated by a rehabilitation therapist, physiotherapist or an Advanced Practice Physiotherapist (APP). The APPs refer complex patients who require a second opinion or a specialised procedure to the Sports and Exercise Medicine Consultant who does a review, treatment or an onward referral.

Patients seen at the service are either private patients or patients commissioned by the National Health Service.

The service is available Monday-Thursday 8am to 8pm and Friday 8am to 4pm.

How we inspected this service

During our inspection we:

• Spoke with the National Clinical Lead, the reception manager and a receptionist remotely through video conferencing.

During our site visit we:

• Spoke with staff (the Sports and Exercise Medicine Consultant, the National Clinical Lead, Musculoskeletal Clinical Lead and Head of Governance).
• Reviewed personnel files, service policies and procedures and other records concerned with running the service.

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 therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 7 January 2022

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 Crystal Palace Sports Injury Centre on 15 December 2021 as part of our inspection programme.

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. There are some exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of regulated activities and services and these are set out in and of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Crystal Palace Sports Injury Centre is part of a chain of physiotherapy clinics situated within London.

Vita Health Solutions Limited is part of Vita Health Group which comprises of three areas of provision in the NHS, corporate and private markets specialising in the treatment of musculoskeletal and mental health conditions.

The clinic provides a Sport and Exercise Medicine (SEM) consultant led care with the support of Advanced Practice Physiotherapists (APP) and provides immediate treatment of pain and sports injury through lifestyle changes and preventative exercise for complete physical and mental well-being. The clinic provides the services including physiotherapy, shockwave therapy, massage, acupuncture, pilates, fitness classes, assessment and treatment for dizziness, balance and vestibular disorders.

The National Clinical Lead for the service 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.

Our key findings were:

• Staff had been trained with the skills and knowledge to deliver safe care and treatment. Clinical staff were aware of current evidence-based guidance.
• Information about the range of services and fees were available. Complaints information was displayed in the clinics and available on their website; however, there was no complaints leaflet for patients.
• The service conducted quality improvement activity to improve patient outcomes.
• There was a system in place to receive safety alerts issued by government departments such as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
• Patient feedback was important to the service and was used to improve the services provided.
• Clinical information with other relevant healthcare providers was shared in a timely manner (subject to patient consent).
• Staff told us that they were happy to work for the service.
• The service had an administrative governance structure in place, which was adhered to through a range of policies and procedures which were regularly reviewed.
• There was a clear vision and strategy, along with a strong governance framework in place which included all key policies and guidance.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Consider audits of consultations of Sports and Exercise Medicine consultants.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care