Archived: Psymplicity Healthcare

Updated 29 September 2022

The service is provided by Psymplicity Healthcare

There is a website: https://psymplicity.com/

Psymplicity Healthcare is registered with CQC to provide the following regulated activities:

• Treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

The provider employed the following staff to provide the service:

15 Adult Psychiatrists

8 Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists

2 Forensic Psychiatrists

1 Cognitive Behavioural Therapist

1 Clinical Psychologist

2 Counselling Psychologists

5 Assistant Psychologists

4 Therapists (including Psychotherapists and Systemic Therapists)

1 Psychology Services Director

The service also has a team of administrators and medical secretaries. The service operates five days a week Monday - Friday 8:00am to 8:00pm and Saturday - Sunday 10:00am – 4:00pm for 365 days per year. The service sees patients remotely via online appointments and sessions and some appointments are face to face.

How we inspected this service

We used CQC’s methodology for monitoring services during the COVID-19 pandemic including on site and remote interactions.

During the inspection visit to the service, the inspection team:

• Checked the safety, maintenance and cleanliness of the premises

• Spoke with seven patients who were using the service

• Reviewed seven feedback forms from other patients who were using the service

• Spoke with the registered manager, medical director, cognitive behavioural therapist lead, three general adult psychiatrists, six members of the psychology team, one customer service team lead and one recruitment team lead

• Reviewed seven patient care and treatment records

• Checked how prescription pads were managed and stored

• Reviewed four staff records

• Reviewed information and documents relating to the operation and management of the service.

You can find further information about how we carry out our inspections on our website: www.cqc.org.uk/what-we-do/ how-we-do-our-job/what-we-do-inspection.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• Is it caring?

• Is it responsive to people’s needs?

• Is it well-led?

These questions therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 29 September 2022

This service is rated as Good overall.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Psymplicity Healthcare between 2 August 2022 – 16 August 2022 as part of our inspection programme. This was the first inspection of this service. The provider moved their registered location during the inspection so we visited their new premises at Churchill House.

Psymplicity Healthcare is an independent provider of outpatient mental health care based in London. The service provides therapy, psychology and psychiatry for children, young people and adults. Psymplicity Healthcare accepts referrals from GPs, other healthcare specialists and via self-referral. Psymplicity Healthcare treats a variety of conditions and issues, including psychotic disorders, personality disorders, depression, anxiety, ADHD, schizophrenia, assessment of Autism Spectrum Disorder, low self-esteem, sexual issues, and relationship and family issues. 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. Psymplicity Healthcare also provides medicolegal services which are not within CQC’s scope of registration. Therefore, we did not inspect or report on this part of the service.

The Chief Executive Officer of the company is also 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 in run.

Our key findings were:

• The service provided safe care. The service had clear systems to keep people safe and safeguarded from abuse. Staff appropriately assessed and managed risks to patient safety.

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

• Staff developed holistic care and treatment plans informed by a comprehensive assessment in collaboration with patients.

• Care and treatment were planned and delivered in line with current legislation and best practice guidance produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and suitable to the needs of the patients.

• Leaders ensured that staff received training and appraisals. Staff worked well together.

• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They actively involved patients in all care and treatment decisions.

• The service was easy to access. Patients were able to access care and treatment from the service within an appropriate timescale for their needs.

• The service took complaints and concerns seriously and responded to them appropriately to improve the quality of care.

• The service was well led, and there were governance processes in place which, for the most part, were robust.

• The provider had a clear vision for improving the service and promoting good patient outcomes.

However,

• Oversight of the service was not always as consistent as it needed to be. For example, in respect of prompt reporting to CQC or the maintenance of the service’s audit schedule. The service was aware of these issues and action plans were in place to make improvements.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• The provider should ensure its oversight arrangements are sufficiently robust to enable managers to consistently identify and respond to issues in a timely way.

Jemima Burnage

Director of Mental Health (interim)