Lawson Street Health Centre, which is a Covid care clinic, run by Hartlepool and Stockton Health Limited has been rated outstanding following its first inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in June.
The provider runs the clinic from two sites. CQC inspected the Lawson Street Health Centre location in Stockton-on-Tees and reviewed information for the One Life Hartlepool site in Hartlepool. Inspectors found an outstanding service. The provider also has another four services rated outstanding by CQC.
This clinic was set up in 2020 to provide face-to-face healthcare appointments for patients who had either tested positive or had symptoms of COVID-19. It provides a patient pathway that minimises any potential COVID-19 transmission and to separate people who are potentially infectious from other people seeking healthcare.
The service also provides the local COVID-19 ‘Oximetry@home’ service which supports people at home who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and are most at risk of becoming seriously unwell. The service had been one of the first of four areas to participate in the pilot, which was then rolled out nationally.
Following the inspection, the service was rated outstanding overall and for being effective and well-led. It was rated good for being safe, caring and responsive to people’s needs.
Beverley Cole, CQC head of primary medical services, said:
“When we inspected Lawson Street Health Centre, we found that the provider demonstrated exceptional partnership working to effectively meet the needs of their local community during a challenging and difficult time. Leaders were proactive in identifying and tackling challenges to be able to provide an outstanding service to meet the needs of the local community. Also, leaders had a clear focus on building a positive, patient safety culture which they should be proud of.
“We were extremely impressed by how well organised the service was. All staff were appropriately qualified, and the provider understood staff’s learning needs and how to provide them with ongoing support.
“We saw patients were able to access care and treatment within an appropriate timescale that met their needs. Additionally, staff treated people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
“The whole team deserve to be congratulated for all their hard work and commitment.”
CQC inspectors found:
- Leaders worked in partnership and developed relationships across other organisations to ensure services were joined up and there were open discussions on how to work well together to meet the needs of the local community
- 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 organisation routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care they provided. They ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines
- There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.