Motorsport Vision - Brands Hatch Circuit

Motorsport Vision is operated by Motorsport Vision Limited. In England, Motorsport Vision Limited operate six motor racing circuits including Brands Hatch.

We inspected the service at Brands Hatch motor racing circuit in Fawkham, Kent which comprises a medical centre and ambulance service.

The service primarily serves people who participate in motor racing experience events called ‘track days’, which are offered to people including accompanied children from the age of 14 upwards. Event medical cover which is out of the cope of CQC regulation, is also provided for corporate hospitality functions along with car and motorcycle racing events.

The service provides emergency and urgent care and a patient transport service for motor sports professionals and track experience participants who are injured and require conveyance to hospital. A helipad sited next to the medical centre is also available to transport casualties to hospital.

We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. This was the service’s first inspection since registration in 2018.

We carried out an unannounced inspection on 11 December 2019.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask the same five questions of all services: are they safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs, and well-led?

Throughout the inspection, we took account of what people told us and how the provider understood and complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

The main service provided by this service was emergency care and treatment within an event setting. Patient transport services were a small proportion of activity which is regulated by the Care Quality Commission. This report focuses on the provision of urgent and emergency services for those patients conveyed to hospital via the patient transport service ambulance.

We rated it as Good overall.

• The service had enough staff with the right qualifications, skills, training and experience to keep people safe from avoidable harm and to provide the right care and treatment.

• Staff understood how to protect patients from abuse and the service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse, and they knew how to apply it.

• The design, maintenance and use of facilities, premises and equipment kept people safe. Staff managed clinical waste well.

• Standards of hygiene and cleanliness were maintained. Staff carried out comprehensive daily cleaning, equipment and vehicle checks.

• The service had a strong, visible person-centred culture, which focused on helping others to express their view, so they could understand things from their point of view. All staff were fully committed to this approach.

• The provider participated in research and development, run by a large university, to measure the effectiveness of an assessment tool.

• The service was inclusive and took account of patients’ individual needs. The service made reasonable adjustments to help patients access services.

• The provider worked well with the wider community. Children with various disabilities were invited to tour around the track and visit to the medical centre.

• Leaders had the skills and abilities to run the service. They understood and managed the priorities and issues the service faced. They were visible and approachable in the service for patients and staff.

However:

• However, staff were self-employed which meant there was a risk that they could cancel their shift at short notice. Although a revised recruitment program was currently underway.

• The registered manager was trained at level 2 safeguarding and not currently trained at level 3 safeguarding in line with national guidelines.

• Staff meetings were infrequent as most staff were self-employed and staff told us that meetings were difficult to co-ordinate.

Nigel Acheson

Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals (London and South), on behalf of the Chief Inspector of Hospitals