Aquamarine Medicals

The service was registered with Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 31 May 2022 and this is the first inspection since registration.

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 Aquamarine Medicals on 01 November 2022 as part of our planned inspection programme.

Aquamarine Medicals is a location and the registered provider is Aquamarine Medicals Limited.

Aquamarine Medicals Limited was incorporated in January 2020 with Aquamarine medicals operating as a sole trader from 2018 to 2020. At this time the provider was an occupational health assessment provider for the maritime and offshore industries and as such was out of scope for CQC registration. On 31 May 2022 Aquamarine Medicals Limited registered with CQC to be registered for the regulated activities of diagnostic and screening procedures and treatment of disease, disorder or injury, in order to offer travel and occupational vaccination, phlebotomy services and drug screening tests on a private basis from their existing premises.

This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. There are some exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to types of regulated activities and services and these are set out in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

We inspected those procedures offered by Aquamarine Medicals which are regulated activities, for example, travel vaccination, phlebotomy services and drug screening tests on a private basis.

The clinic provided services for privately funded patients who self-refer to the service and a wider service to the community through service provision to organisations. Consultations were provided face to face or online. Vaccinations were provided for adults and children. The service vaccinated children from the age of 2 weeks if appropriate, within the licence for the vaccine. The service has recently been accredited to provide Yellow Fever Vaccine. For undertaking blood tests, the minimum age treated was 18 years (unless for occupational purposes such as joining the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and then the minimum was 17 years).

The service inspected was in its infancy and had seen and treated up to 50 patients each month.

Aquamarine Medicals have two company directors. A qualified and practicing doctor is a director and 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 people. 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.

Further staff included another doctor, three trained nurses, one health care assistant with a phlebotomy qualification and two administrative staff.

As part of the inspection we looked at patient feedback received by the service. The service told us, once they are more established, they will undertake regular feedback via email surveys after consultation. During the inspection, we reviewed online written comments from people using the travel health service. Feedback from patients and staff was consistently positive

Our key findings were:

• The service had clearly embedded systems, processes and operating procedures to keep patients safe, to manage a safe environment, to manage incidents and significant events and to safeguarded patients from abuse.

• Staff had the information they needed to deliver safe care and treatment to patients. There was a system in place for reporting and recording of incidents and significant events and the service learned and made improvements when things went wrong.

• The provider assessed and delivered care and treatment in line with current legislation, standards and guidance. Patients using the service were assessed, given information and given travel advice. The service monitored the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. Staff had the skills, knowledge and training to provide an effective service. Consent was obtained and recorded.

• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

• The service organised and delivered services to meet patient’s needs. Opening times and appointments were flexible enabling patients who worked to attend during the evenings and at weekends. The service took complaints and concerns seriously, however no complaints had been received since the service opened.

• Management had the capacity and skills to deliver quality sustainable care. There were clear responsibilities, roles and systems of accountability to support good governance and management. There were effective processes for managing risks, issues and performance. There were systems and processes for learning, continuous improvement and innovation.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

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