The Alexandra Hospital

Updated 9 March 2022

The Alexandra Hospital is part of the Circle Health Group and is in Cheadle Cheshire. The hospital included seven main operating theatres and one hybrid catheter lab theatre, as well as a large recovery area, two inpatient surgical wards, a day care ward, dedicated children and young person’s ward, a complex range of diagnostic imaging services, physiotherapy department, on site pharmacy, a five bedded level three/level two critical care ward, minor injury unit and outpatients.

It provided surgical procedures to both NHS and private patients.

The Alexandra Hospital has been registered since 1 May 2011. The current executive director has been the registered manager for the service since October 2021.

The service is registered to provide the following regulated activities:

• Diagnostic and screening procedures

• Surgical procedures

• Treatment of disease, disorder or injury

We previously inspected The Alexandra Hospital on 31 July 2019. We rated the hospital as good overall. The service was rated as good for being safe, effective, caring and responsive and was rated as requires improvement for well led. At the 2019 inspection there were two regulatory breaches.

Updated 9 March 2022

Our rating of this location stayed the same. We rated it as good because:

• The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service-controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information. Key services were available seven days a week.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. Most people could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
• Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

However:

• The children and young people service was not always inclusive and did not take account of children, young people and their families' individual needs and preferences. Staff could not always make reasonable adjustments to help children, young people, and their families access services.
• Leaders and staff did not actively and openly engage with children and young people, equality groups, the public and local organisations to plan and manage services.

Updated 27 January 2020

Medical care services were a small proportion of hospital activity. The main service was surgical services. Where arrangements were the same, we have reported findings in the surgery service section.

Medical service included delivering chemotherapy, TAVI (transcatheter aortic valve replacement) and endoscopic procedures to insured, NHS funded and self-paying patients.

We rated this service as good because it was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.

Updated 9 March 2022

Our rating of this service improved. We rated it as good because:

• The service had enough staff to care for children and young people and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect children and young people from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to children and young people, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided good care and treatment, gave children and young people enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of children and young people, advised them and their families on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information. Key services were available to support timely patient care.
• Staff treated children and young people with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to children and young people, families, and carers.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
• Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff felt respected, supported, and valued. They were focused on the needs of children and young people receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities.

However:

• Leaders and staff did not actively and openly engage with children and young people, equality groups, the public and local organisations to plan and manage services.

The Children and Young People’s service is a small proportion of hospital activity. The main service was surgery. Where arrangements were the same, we have reported findings in the surgery section.

We rated this service as good because it was safe, effective, caring, and responsive and well-led.

Updated 27 January 2020

The critical care service supported the hospital’s main surgical services; it accepted both planned and unplanned admissions.

We rated the critical care service as good overall.

Updated 27 January 2020

Diagnostic imaging services were available to consultants with practising privileges who were authorised as referrers. We rated the service as good overall. We rated safe, caring, responsive and well led as good. We inspected but did not rate effective.

Updated 9 March 2022

Our rating of this service stayed the same. We rated it as good because:

• There were enough qualified, trained staff to deliver safe care.
• The service managed medicines safely and followed good practice with respect to safeguarding.
• Staff engaged in clinical audit to evaluate the quality of care they provided.
• Patients had access to a wide range of specialists. Managers ensured that these staff received training, supervision and appraisal.
• Staff worked well together as a multidisciplinary team and liaised well with local and regional providers to coordinate care.
• Staff understood and discharged their roles and responsibilities under the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and understood their individual needs. They involved patients and families and carers in care decisions.
• The service was well led, and governance processes ensured clinics ran smoothly.

Updated 9 March 2022

Our rating of this service stayed the same. We rated it as good because:

• The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information. Key services were available seven days a week.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
• Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

Updated 27 January 2020

The Private Walk in Centre in centre is located on the ground floor of the hospital and adjacent to the reception area, separate access is available for patients using this service. The centre is open seven days a week, Monday to Friday 8am-8pm and Saturday and Sunday 8am-6pm. This is a private walk-in service providing care for a range of minor illness and injuries. Patients, who attend with major injuries or complicated illness, are medically reviewed and stabilized before being transferred by ambulance to the local accident and emergency (A&E) department. The team can see patients over the age of three. The team offer private onward referral to specialist BMI consultants for further investigation. This is a fee-paying service.

We rated this service as good because it was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.