InHealth Audiology - Peterborough City Care Centre

Updated 3 March 2022

City Care Centre provides a range of specialist audiology diagnostic and hearing rehabilitation procedures at its clinic in Peterborough and is a location of InHealth Limited, a provider of specialist diagnostic and health care solutions. Audiology is the study of hearing disorders. Diagnostic and hearing rehabilitation procedures are carried out by an audiologist who assess and manage disorders of hearing. City Care Centre offers NHS funded hearing diagnosis and hearing aids to patients as well as providing access to a range of audiology support services and on-going aftercare. At the same location, InHealth also offers a private hearing aid service to the population of Peterborough.

We carried out a short notice announced comprehensive inspection of the service on the 13 January 2022, to ensure that staff and patients would be present at the clinic and not disrupt services.

The service is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide the regulated activity of diagnostic and screening procedures for patients who are 18 to 19 years of age. They do not provide services to patients under the age of 18 years. In the 12 months before our inspection the service saw nine patients between 18 and 19 years of age.

This was the first inspection of the service since its registration with the CQC on the 1 February 2017 and the same registered manger has been in post since this date.

Updated 3 March 2022

This was our first inspection of the service. 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. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided good care and treatment. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information.
• 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 to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

Updated 3 March 2022

This was our first inspection of the service. 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. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided good care and treatment. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information.
• 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 to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.