10 Janaury 2020
During a routine inspection
North Wandsworth Dialysis Unit is operated by Fresenius Medical Care Renal Services Limited. The unit has 16 dialysis stations in the main area and two side rooms with two machines which is 18 stations in total. The service provides dialysis services for people over the age of 18; it does not provide treatment for children.
We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out the unannounced part of the inspection on 10 January 2020.
To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask the same five questions of all services: are they safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs, and well-led? Where we have a legal duty to do so we rate services’ performance against each key question as outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.
Throughout the inspection, we took account of what people told us and how the provider understood and complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
Services we rate
We rated it as Good overall.
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Staff kept patients safe from harm and abuse. Risks were assessed, monitored and managed appropriately.
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Care and treatment records were accurate, stored securely and provided comprehensive details of care and treatment.
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Staff recognised incidents and knew how to report them. Managers investigated incidents and made improvements to the service.
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Staff had the appropriate skills, training, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
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Staff delivered care and treatment in line with evidence-based practice.
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Staff involved patients and carers in decisions about their care and treatment.
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Staff cared for patients with compassion, treating them with dignity and respect. Staff truly respected and valued patients as individuals and empowered them as partners in their care, practically and emotionally, by offering an exceptional service.
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The service was proactive in meeting the needs of people from their whole community. The services provided reflected the needs of the population served and ensured flexibility, choice and continuity of care.
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There was an open and transparent culture, with engaged and experienced leadership.
However, we also found the following issues that the service provider needs to improve:
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The storage of equipment did not always keep people safe. We found wheelchair stored in toilets and the domestic fridge freezer used for storage of blood samples was not appropriate for its usage.
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Staff did not follow best practice in relation to infection prevention and control. Waste bins were overfilled and falling from its stand in most areas.
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During the inspection, we found there was no process for identifying whether equipment was clean or when it was last cleaned. There was no evidence of the use of “I am clean” green label used at the centre. Following the inspection, the provider told us that any infrequently used equipment was labelled with a “I am clean” green label.
Nigel Acheson
Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals (London)