Medical Imaging Partnership Manchester

Updated 25 April 2022

Prime Health Manchester is an independent health provider of diagnostic radiology services to both NHS and private patients. The service has five consulting rooms, one static 3T MRI scanner, one Ultrasound scanner as well as X-ray services.

The service saw 3,939 adult patients and 103 children and young people between January and December 2021. Of the children, 90 were aged 13 and above undergoing MRI scans and 13 were aged 10 and above undergoing X-ray and ultrasound scans. However, at the time of our inspection the service had suspended the provision of any services to children and young people in response to inspection findings at a different location of this provider.

Therefore, during this inspection no children were seen and we could not collect sufficient evidence to rate all the areas of the children and young people's service.

The service was registered in 2018 and has not previously been inspected. The service had a Registered Manager.

The main service provided by this service was diagnostic imaging. Where our findings on children and young people service and outpatients, for example, management arrangements, also apply to other services, we do not repeat the information but cross-refer to the diagnostic service.

The outpatient services delivered from the premises of Prime Health Manchester were done so under a room rental agreement called “license to occupy”. This allowed external clinicians to rent rooms via a license to occupy agreement. Prime Health employed receptionists, healthcare assistants and radiographers, many of these staff were cross trained to act as chaperones and assistants within the department. Prime Health Manchester issued practicing privileges but did not manage the related patient records. Consultants secretaries liaised with prime health to manage and co-ordinate appointments.

At the time of our inspection occupational health, general practitioner, urology, weight management, medicolegal, musculoskeletal and mole cancer check clinics operated at the department. However, these did not take place daily.

Updated 25 April 2022

This is the first time we have inspected this service. We rated it as requires improvement because:

We inspected and rated the diagnostic imaging service as good in all domains. The children and young people’s service was not actively being delivered at the time of the inspection however we inspected and rated safe and well led, we rated safe as inadequate and well led as requires improvement and requires improvement overall. We inspected but only rated well led in outpatients due to insufficient evidence because of the nature of the service provision. However, we rated well led as inadequate. We deviated from the aggregation rules and rated the service as requires improvement overall.

We found that;

In diagnostic imaging services

• The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients. 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, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
• 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. All staff were committed to improving services continually.

In Children and Young people’s services;

• The service did not have enough staff trained to care for children and young people and keep them safe.
• Staff did not have training in key skills including paediatric life support at the time of the inspection.
• The service did not plan care to meet the needs of local people or take account of patients’ individual needs this included children and young people or make it easy for them to raise concern.
• The service was not focused on the additional needs of children and young people attending the service.

However,

• They controlled infection risk well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• The provider informed us following the inspection that all staff had now been trained in paediatric basic life support.

In outpatients;

• There was no clear evidence that the provider had an effective system in place to ensure the effective identification and management of potential risks and quality performance of the Outpatient services.
• Managers did not actively monitor the effectiveness of the service.

However;

• The service controlled infection risk well. The service reviewed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them. They made sure staff were competent.

Updated 25 April 2022

This is the first time we have inspected this service. However, at the time of our inspection the service had suspended the provision of any services to children and young people in response to inspection findings at a different location of this provider.

We rated this service as requires improvement.

We found the following:

• The service did not have enough staff trained to care for children and young people and keep them safe. Staff did not have training in key skills including paediatric life support at the time of the inspection.
• The service did not plan care to meet the needs of local people or take account of patients’ individual needs this included children and young people or make it easy for them to raise concerns.
• The service was not focused on the additional needs of children and young people attending the service.

However,

• The service controlled infection risk well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• The provider informed us following the inspection that all staff had now been trained in paediatric basic life support.

Children and young people core service is a small proportion of hospital activity. The main service was diagnostic imaging. Where arrangements were the same, we have reported findings in the diagnostic imaging section.

Updated 25 April 2022

The diagnostic imaging department provides a range of diagnostic services to both NHS and private patients which include general x-ray, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

We rated this service as good because it was rated as good in the safe, caring, responsive and well led domains. We inspected effective but did not rate it.

This is the first time we have rated this service. We rated it as good because:

• The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients. 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, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
• 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. All staff were committed to improving services continually.

Updated 25 April 2022

This is the first time we have rated this service. We only rated well led as there was insufficient evidence to rate the other domains or to aggregate an overall rating.

We found:

• Staff did not always have training in key skills such as external staff undertaking safeguarding training.
• There was no clear evidence that the provider had an effective system in place to ensure the effective identification and management of potential risks and quality performance of the Outpatient services.
• Managers did not actively monitor the effectiveness of the service but made sure staff were competent.

However;

• The service controlled infection risk well. The service reviewed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.

Outpatients is a small proportion of services activity. The main service was diagnostic imaging. Where arrangements were the same, we have reported findings in the diagnostic imaging section, we do not repeat the information but cross-refer to the diagnostic service.

We have only rated Well led as there was insufficient evidence to rate Safe, Effective, Caring and Responsive. We have not rated this service overall.