Walsall Urgent Treatment Centre

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 Walsall Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) in response to concerns and complaints we had received about the service. This included areas linked to triaging, long waiting times, lack of communication and the suitability of the facilities and premises. The service had not been inspected since registering with Care Quality Commission (CQC).

At this inspection we found:

• The service had good systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When they did happen, the service learned from them and improved their processes.
• The service routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence-based guidelines.
• Staff treated people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patients were overall able to access care and treatment from the service within an appropriate timescale for their needs. Surges in demand for the service in addition to ongoing pressures in the system meant delays were unavoidable but minimised as much as possible. Patients were triaged and prioritised based on risk. The service continued to review and respond to pressures on the service.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation. Staff described a positive culture with learning encouraged and supported.
• There was compassionate, inclusive and effective leadership.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review the recruitment policy to ensure clarity and consistency in documents requested as part of the recruitment process.
• Consider developing the providers website to make information about individual services more accessible to patients.
• Continue to review capacity and demand to improve patients experience of the service.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care

Our inspection team was led by a CQC lead inspector. The team included a GP specialist adviser.