Connect Health Limited

This service is rated as Good overall and Outstanding for the well-led key question. (At the previous inspection (04/2018 to 05/2018) the service was not rated due to Care Quality Commission’s methodology at that time but found to be compliant in all key questions)

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? – Outstanding

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Connect Health Limited. This was as part of our inspection programme as Independent Health services were previously unrated.

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 particular 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. Connect Health Limited provides physiotherapy services, which are not within CQC’s scope of registration. Therefore, we did not inspect or report on these services.

The Director of NHS Services 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.

At this inspection we found:

• The service had good systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When they did happen, the service learned from them and improved their processes.
• The service routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
• Staff involved and treated people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patients were able to access care and treatment from the service within an appropriate timescale for their needs.
• The leadership, management and governance of the organisation assured the delivery of high-quality and person-centred care, supported learning and innovation, and promoted an open and fair culture. They responded to incidents and learned lessons that they shared across the organisation, for example with the implementation of a new clinical governance structure.
• We found very high levels of staff satisfaction and confidence in their seniors.
• Leaders collaborated with external partners in order to improve their service.
• Leaders demonstrated that they were committed to improving patient care, they had set up a quality improvement group and had a strong focus on staff training and development.
• The provider had a strong focus on continuous improvement and innovation, with the aim of improving the quality of the services they delivered.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care