The Unicare Group - Burton

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Unicare Group Burton as part of our inspection programme.

The Unicare group offers a private GP service which includes home visits to existing patients, minor surgery and aesthetic procedures.

This service is registered with the Care Quality Commission (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 and of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The Unicare Group Burton provides a range of non-surgical cosmetic interventions, for example laser hair removal, injections of Botox and fillers which are not within CQC scope of registration. Therefore, we did not inspect or report on these services.

The Unicare Group Burton is registered with CQC to provide the following regulated activities: treatment of disease, disorder or injury: surgical procedures and is registered as an Independent Healthcare Company. As a provider of Independent Healthcare, the practice is able to offer its surgical services to patients from a much wider area than the NHS practice list at the same site. The service also has a registered practice in Derby.

The GP Dr Vamsee Bammidi is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with CQC 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.

In preparation for the inspection, the practice had been sent blank comment cards and a small collection box from CQC. The team had encouraged patients who used the service to fill these in before the inspection. We received a total of eight completed comment cards which included patients who had undergone either minor surgery or who had seen the GP for a health assessment. All eight of the cards were positive about the service and care received. Feedback obtained clearly demonstrated positive outcomes for patients. Patients spoke highly of the care and treatment they had received from the clinic. They described staff as friendly, efficient, helpful and caring. They also commented that staff put them at their ease during any surgical procedure. Staff we spoke with told us they were well supported in their work and were proud to be part of a team which provided a high-quality service.

Our key findings were :

• Patients received detailed and clear information about their proposed treatment which enabled them to make an informed decision.
• Patients were offered convenient, timely and flexible appointments at a location of their choice.
• Staff helped patients to be involved in decisions about their care. Patients were provided with patient information packs containing written pre and post treatment literature.
• There was a transparent approach to safety with demonstrably effective systems in place for reporting and recording adverse incidents.
• There were effective procedures in place for monitoring and managing risks to patient and staff safety. For example, there were arrangements to prevent the spread of infection.
• The service had a structured programme of quality improvement activity and routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care provided.
• There was effective leadership, management and governance arrangements in place that assured the delivery of high-quality care and treatment.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

Formalise the management of infection prevention and control of infection.

Organise staff files in a clear and consistent order.

Update their statement of purpose (SOP) in a timely manner and advise CQC of relevant changes.

Consider including hydrocortisone as an emergency medicine.

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