We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of ent4kids (the service) on 30 November 2022, as part of our inspection programme. The service had been inspected previously in May 2013, before the CQC introduced ratings for independent healthcare providers.
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
The service is operated by ENT4KIDS Limited (the provider) and offers private specialist Ear, Nose and Throat consultations and healthcare mostly to children, although adult family members may also be treated. Minor healthcare procedures may be carried out at the location. However, the doctors working in the service have practising privileges at two private London hospitals, where more complex procedures are performed.
The provider has a registered manager, who 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.
There were no patient appointments on the day of our inspection visit, but we saw recent reviews and feedback and received some comments from service users directly via the CQC website.
Our key findings were:
- Patients were protected from avoidable harm and abuse.
- Patients have good outcomes because they receive effective care and treatment that meets their needs.
- Patients are supported, treated with dignity and respect and are involved as partners in the care.
- Patients’ needs are met through the way services are organised and delivered.
- The leadership, governance and culture promote the delivery of high-quality person-centred care.
The areas where the provider should make improvements are:
- Investigate whether other healthcare providers at the location have a defibrillator and explore whether access to it can be shared.
- Make use of prescribing monitoring data for future formal clinical auditing.
- Set up a formal monitoring process to check and, if needs be, chase test results on a weekly basis.
Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA
Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services