Extracellular

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 Extracellular as part of our inspection programme. This was the first inspection of this service after the provider had registered with the CQC in November 2021.

Extracellular is a private primary care general practice consultation service. They provide an investigation service including, electrocardiograms (ECGs), blood tests, joint injections, microbiology and pathology and prescribe medicines and treatments. They also refer patients on for radiology, ultrasound and other private opinions as part of the treatment process.

The provider is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

We reviewed feedback the service received from two patients. Those patients rated the service as ‘Excellent’ with five out of five stars.

Our key findings were:

The service had not been previously inspected as having been registered November 2021. Despite the reduced regulated activity as a result of the pandemic, we found the following areas of good practice:

• The service had enough clinical staff with the right qualifications, skills, training and experience to keep patients safe from avoidable harm and to provide the right treatment.

• The service controlled infection risk well. Staff kept themselves, equipment and the treatment rooms clean.

• Systems for the management of stock and emergency medicines, were operating effectively.

• Staff we spoke with told us how they would care for a patient in a respectful and kind manner.

• The service involved patients in decisions about their care and treatment and considered their individual needs.

• The service encouraged feedback from patients. Staff encouraged patients to leave an online review or complete a text message survey and these were used to monitor performance.

• The service had ensured staff currently employed, and those with a view to employment in the future, had appropriate inductions and training to cover the scope of their work.

findings

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Consider incorporating mental health questions into the consultation process for patients.
• Consider improving the way that information is collected to make it auditable in the future.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services