Barking Hospital

Updated 30 January 2024

The provider of Barking Hospital is Together First CIC, which was a GP Federation formed in 2014 and reformed as a Community Interest Company (CIC) in 2020 to partner with its GP shareholders with a focus on service development and delivery of services for their local communities.

The address is Barking Hospital

Upney Lane

Barking

Essex

IG11 9LX

The premises are a small reception area and some consultation rooms at Barking Hospital but operated by Together First CIC.

The service is operated by a Board with a chairperson and four elected members and a chief officer who are supported by directors, including a clinical director, business managers and an administration team. They support a clinical team who work across the services.

The service is commissioned by the Primary Care Network (PCN) and North East London Integrated Care Board (ICB) for the residents of Barking and Dagenham who are registered with a local GP practice. The service is commissioned for:

An extended hours service open from Monday to Friday 6.30pm to 10pm and Saturday and Sunday 10am to 10pm. This was for patients who were assessed as having an urgent primary care need. The service provided GP face to face and telephone appointments. It did not provide a service for patients who required on going treatment for long-term conditions, palliative care, and maternity care. Patients could access the service by contacting the service directly, through their NHS GP service, or NHS111 or urgent care services.

An enhanced access service, which commenced in October 2022 offered cervical screening, vaccination, and long-term health condition monitoring appointments to patients within the different PCNs. The service was subcontracted from the PCNs who were commissioned by the local Integrated Care Board (ICB). The service operated from Monday to Friday 9:30am to 6.30pm and Saturdays and Sundays 9am to 5pm.

A simple wound care service for patients, which was carried out by practice nurses. The service was open from 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday.

A spirometer service. The service was open on Tuesday 2.30pm to 7.30pm, Friday 10am to 7:30pm and Saturday and Sunday 9am to 10pm.

The provider Together First Ltd is registered with the CQC to provide the regulated activity treatment of disease, disorder and injury.

Updated 30 January 2024

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection 10 October 2018 the service was rated overall Good)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Outstanding

Are services well-led? – Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Barking Hospital from the 7 to 19 December 2023 as part of our inspection programme.

How we carried out the inspection.

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site.

This included:

• Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
• Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider.
• Requesting evidence from the provider.
• A site visit.

Our findings

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

• what we found when we inspected
• information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
• information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

At this inspection we found:

We rated the service as outstanding for providing responsive services because:

• People can access services and appointments in a way and at a time that suits them.
• Technology was used innovatively to ensure people have timely access to treatment, support, and care.
• The service identified people’s health inequalities and needs and provided services in response.
• The service improved on commissioned services to provide better outcomes for patients.
• People’s individual needs and preferences were central to the delivery of tailored services.

We have rated safe, effective, caring and well-led as good because:

• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• The service had systems to keep people safe and safeguarded from abuse.
• Technology and equipment were used to improve treatment and to support patients' independence. The service was able to access the patients GP NHS records to ensure they had enough information when making care and treatment decisions.
• Staff worked together and worked well with other organisations to deliver effective care and treatment.
• The service had a vision and strategy to deliver quality care and promote good outcomes for patients.
• Leaders had the capacity and skills to deliver quality sustainable care.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Act to risk assess any Disclosure and Barring checks that are not current and from a previous employer.
• Improve the recording and guidance for the audit of clinician’s patient consultations reviews.
• Review policies and procedure to check they fully reflect the services practices.
• Act to record verbal complaints to enable the identification of any reoccurring issues.
• Seek further assurance that all staff have completed the necessary training for their roles.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Health Care