Phoenix Hospital Chelmsford

Updated 15 July 2022

Phoenix Hospital Chelmsford is a private hospital in Chelmsford, Essex and is a location of Phoenix Hospital Investments Ltd. The location offers a wide range of medical and surgical procedures and aims to meet the needs of patients outside London. Phoenix Hospital Chelmsford is an elective surgery hospital with fully equipped operating theatres, day case rooms and consulting suites, patients can access surgical, diagnostic and outpatient services from this location. Between May 2021 and May 2022, the service carried out 731 procedures.

Patients can access the service by self-funding, from insurance agreements and some limited NHS choices.

This service was registered by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 1 November 2019, and this was our first inspection. At the time of our inspection the hospital director was in the process of registering with the CQC to become the registered manager and take on the day to day oversight and leadership of the service. This role was previously performed by the CEO, but given the different locations owned by the service, the service deemed that a permanent registered manager at this location was appropriate to support ongoing developments and provide consistent leadership locally.

The service is registered to provide the following regulated activities:

• Family planning services
• Treatment of disease, disorder or injury
• Surgical procedures
• Diagnostic and screening procedures

The main service provided by this hospital was cosmetic surgery. Where our findings on surgery for example, management arrangements – also apply to other services, we do not repeat the information but cross-refer to the surgery service.

Updated 15 July 2022

Phoenix Hospital Chelmsford is a private hospital in Chelmsford, Essex and is a location of Phoenix Hospital Investments Ltd. The location offers a wide range of medical and surgical procedures and aims to meet the needs of patients outside London. Phoenix Hospital Chelmsford is an elective surgery hospital with fully equipped operating theatres, day case rooms and consulting suites, patients can access surgical, diagnostic and outpatient services from this location. Between May 2021 and May 2022, the service carried out 731 procedures.

Patients can access the service by self-funding, from insurance agreements and some limited NHS choices.

This service was registered by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 1 November 2019, and this was our first inspection. We inspected the service on 24 May 2022, at its location in Chelmsford and inspected three core services including surgery, outpatients and diagnostic imaging.

At the time of our inspection the hospital director was in the process of registering with the CQC to become the registered manager and take on the day to day oversight and leadership of the service. This role was previously performed by the CEO, but given the different locations owned by the service, the service deemed that a permanent registered manager at this location was appropriate to support ongoing developments and provide consistent leadership locally.

The service is registered to provide the following regulated activities:

• Family planning services
• Treatment of disease, disorder or injury
• Surgical procedures
• Diagnostic and screening procedures

The main service provided by this hospital was cosmetic surgery. Where our findings on surgery for example, management arrangements, also apply to other services, we do not repeat the information but cross-refer to the surgery service.

We rated surgery, outpatients and diagnostic imaging as good, and the service as good overall.

Updated 15 July 2022

This was our first inspection of the service. We rated it as good because:

• The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
• 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. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

However:

• The service did not have a risk register for diagnostic imaging, however due to the nature of the service local risks were being escalated to the registered manager through staff meetings and being mitigated through the governance meetings.

Diagnostic imaging is a small proportion of hospital activity. The main service was cosmetic surgery. Where arrangements were the same, we have reported findings in the surgery section.

Updated 15 July 2022

This was our first inspection of the service. We rated it as good because:

• The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients and acted on them and kept good care records for patients who went on to have minor or surgical procedures. They managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information.
• 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 provided emotional support to patients.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
• 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. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

However:

• Staff did not consistently record ambient room temperatures where medicines were stored.
• Managers did not ensure staff completed training in relation to venous thromboembolism (VTE) and chaperone training.
• The service did not retain records of outpatient consultation, unless the patient went on to have a minor or surgical procedure.
• Consultant completion of the VTE risk assessment was inconsistent.

Outpatients is a small proportion of hospital activity. The main service was surgery. Where arrangements were the same, we have reported findings in the surgery section.

We rated this service as good because it was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

Updated 15 July 2022

This was our first inspection of the service. We rated it as good because:

• The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information.
• 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 provided emotional support to patients.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
• 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. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

However:

• Staff did not consistently record ambient room temperatures where medicines were stored.
• Staff did not always achieve the required compliance for mandatory training specifically in relation to Venous thromboembolism (VTE) and chaperoning.

We rated this service as good because it was safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led.