Watford Clinic has been rated as Inadequate overall following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission.
The private service carries out diagnostic pregnancy, gynaecological, musculoskeletal and general ultrasound scans for private patients aged 18 and above in the Hertfordshire, Essex, London and surrounding areas. It was inspected in April 2019 when CQC visited its premises in Vicarage Road, Watford.
Inspectors found a number of concerns during the inspection and, as a result, two of the five key questions CQC asks the service, are services safe and well-led, are rated as Inadequate.
The rating for whether services are responsive is Requires Improvement and the rating for whether services are caring is Good. The service was not rated for whether the service is effective.
Ted Baker, CQC Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said:
“Our inspectors found a number of significant concerns when they visited Watford Clinic.
“The service did not provide mandatory training in key skills to all staff and a number of the systems and processes, including those for managing risks, handling complaints, investigating and learning from incidents, were not effective.
“We found staff to be caring and compassionate but, while they understood their roles and responsibilities to raise concerns and report safety incidents, the systems, processes and standard operating procedures to keep people safe were not always reliable or appropriate.
“Following this inspection, we told the provider that it must take swift action to ensure it is providing the service that people should be able to expect.
“We have told the provider what it must do to ensure the service is improved and we will continue to monitor its progress very closely. This will include further inspections.”
The service has been told it must make a number of improvements, including:
- Allergy information is documented on patient medical questionnaires before the ultrasound procedures are undertaken.
- Infection, prevention and control risk assessments are in place to effectively mitigate potential risks in all areas.
- A documented procedure, that staff are aware of, must be in place to deal with emergencies and patient risk.
- Complaints’ procedures must be reviewed and there must be an effective process to record, investigate and learn lessons from complaints.
- All policies and procedures must provide staff with clear and timely guidance, be regularly reviewed and reflect national guidance, including scanning policies and procedures.
- Local governance arrangements to ensure the whole team are informed about performance, complaints, incidents, patient feedback, clinical issues, and audit results in a timely manner.
- The provider must ensure there is an effective and documented system in place for managing and monitoring staff compliance with mandatory training, reviewing staff competency, and for implementing an effective clinical audit programme.
- Risks to the service must be regularly reviewed, and mitigating actions discussed with the whole team, including lone working.
- There must be an effective and documented process to monitor the quality of scan images.
- The provider must ensure that all staff have received training specific to their roles, including safeguarding and use of chaperones.
- Staff appraisals and competency assessments must be completed, reviewed, updated regularly and documented.
The full report for the service is published on CQC’s website at the following link: www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-4922929767
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