The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • Independent doctor

Nuffield Health Birmingham Central Fitness and Wellbeing Centre

Broadway Plaza, 220 Ladywood Middleway, Birmingham, West Midlands, B16 8LP (0121) 667 3009

Provided and run by:
Nuffield Health

All Inspections

25 April 2019

During a routine inspection

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 on Nuffield Health Birmingham Central Fitness and Wellbeing Centre as part of our inspection programme.

Nuffield Health Birmingham Central Fitness and Wellbeing Centre provide health assessments to adults that include a range of testing and screening processes carried out by a physiologist and a doctor. Following the assessment and screening process patients undergo a consultation with a doctor to discuss the findings of the results and any recommended lifestyle changes or treatment planning. Patients can also access physiotherapy at the clinic.

The Clinic Manager 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.

Patient feedback and completed CQC comment cards were very positive about the service. Patients noted that they were treated with kindness and respect. Staff were described as knowledgeable, friendly and caring.

Our key findings were:

  • The service had systems to keep people safe and safeguarded from abuse. A duty doctor was available each day and they were responsible for managing safeguarding concerns.
  • There were safe and effective recruitment procedures in place to ensure staff were suitable for their role. There was evidence of effective processes to develop staff which was recognised as being integral to ensuring the delivery of a high quality service.
  • There were effective systems in place to manage infection prevention and control.
  • Services were organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs, they focused on preventative health and patients were supported to live healthier lives. Staff treated patients with kindness, respect and compassion.
  • The service had a culture of high-quality sustainable care. The service focused and invested in the needs of their patients and also their staff. In turn, patient satisfaction was positive and staff felt respected, supported and valued.
  • There was evidence in place to support that the service carried out assessments and treatment in line with relevant and current evidence based guidance and standards.
  • There were adequate arrangements in place for laboratory tests as well as for transporting samples for any offsite testing. During our inspection we noted that the service operated stringent internal and external quality control systems to support this service.
  • There was evidence of continuous quality improvement across various areas such as internal key performance indicator monitoring, adherence to regulatory and best practice standards and quality audits.
  • The development and ongoing education of staff was recognised as being integral to ensuring the delivery of a high quality service. The role of physiologist had been developed by Nuffield Health. They had worked with the Royal Society of Public Health to produce a Code of Practice for the role. The organisation funded training for all Physiologists recruited by the service, this enabled them to work towards a level seven advanced professional diploma in Health and Wellbeing Physiology which was also funded by the service.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

  • Consider supporting doctors who interpret diagnostic spirometry to achieve the standard of practice set out by the Association for Respiratory Technology and Physiology (ARTP) and enable them to enrol on the National Register, as best practice.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGPChief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care

30 November 2017

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on Nuffield Health Birmingham Central Fitness and Wellbeing Centre to ask the service the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found that this service was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this service was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found that this service was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found that this service was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that this service was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations /

Background

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the service was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Nuffield Health Birmingham Central Fitness and Wellbeing Centre provide health assessments to adults that include a range of testing and screening processes carried out by a physiologist and a doctor. Following the assessment and screening process patients undergo a consultation with a doctor to discuss the findings of the results and any recommended lifestyle changes or treatment planning. Patients can also access physiotherapy at the clinic.

The Clinic Manager 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.

Health assessments and physiotherapy are delivered in a purpose built clinic located in the health and wellbeing centre. There are three doctors, two physiology staff and two physiotherapists who work at the centre. Patients can choose to see a female or male staff member when booking in for health assessments and physiotherapy. In addition, patients can choose to be seen at one of the other nearby or wider health and wellbeing centres in the UK.

Health assessments are categorised and promoted as:

  • A lifestyle health assessment, for patients wanting to reduce health risks.
  • A female assessment, for all aspects of female health.
  • A 360 health assessment which includes a review of diabetes and heart health risks.
  • A 360+ health assessment which focussed on cardiovascular health.
  • Bespoke health assessments were also available for areas such as cancer and weight management.

We received six completed CQC comment cards. Completed cards indicated that patients were treated with kindness and respect. Staff were described as friendly, caring and professional. Some patients commented how the use of the service had helped them with their individual care needs. In addition, comment cards described the environment as pleasant, clean and tidy.

Our key findings were:

  • The service had clearly defined processes and well embedded systems in place to keep patients safe and safeguarded them from abuse.
  • There was evidence in place to support that the service carried out assessments and treatment in line with relevant and current evidence based guidance and standards.
  • The information needed to plan and deliver care and treatment was available to staff in a timely and accessible way. There was evidence to demonstrate that the service operated a safe, effective and timely referral process.
  • The provider operated safe and effective recruitment procedures to ensure staff were suitable for their role. Arrangements were in place for planning and monitoring the number of staff and mix of staff needed to meet patients’ needs.
  • The continuing development of staff skills, competence and knowledge was recognised as being integral to ensuring that high quality care was delivered by the service.
  • There were consistently high levels of constructive staff engagement and there were high levels of staff satisfaction rates. During our inspection staff expressed pride in the working for the organisation.
  • There was evidence of continuous quality improvement across various areas such as KPI monitoring, adherence to regulatory and best practice standards and quality audits.
  • The process for seeking consent was monitored through patient records audits. Staff understood the relevant consent and decision-making requirements of legislation and guidance, including the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
  • Completed CQC comment cards were very positive and indicated that patients were treated with kindness and respect. In addition, Results of the services 2017 customer satisfaction survey highlighted positive satisfaction rates with regards to the service provided.