Archived: The Butchery

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

We carried out an announced comprehensive at The Butchery. We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out the announced part of the inspection on 18 May 2022. The service is an NHS funded community ears, nose, and throat (ENT) outpatients clinic and is operated by Primary Care ENT Ltd.

The provider is 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 is run.

Our key findings were:

• Patients were protected from the risk of abuse as staff had received training in the safeguarding of vulnerable adults/children. There were written instructions for staff to follow in order to report suspected abuse.
• There was an effective complaints system available.
• The service had direct access to ear, nose and throat (ENT) waiting lists and ENT operating lists. This meant that patients did not have to attend the hospital for a consultation prior to a procedure and were placed on the operating list in a more effective manner.
• Patients had good outcomes because they received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• The service received positive feedback from patients saying they were treated with a caring attitude and were informed about their treatment.

We found the following areas of outstanding practice:

• Services were tailored to meet the needs of individual people and were delivered in a way to ensure flexibility, choice and continuity of care.
• Feedback from people who use the service, those who are close to them and stakeholders is continually positive about the way staff treat people. People told us that staff go the extra mile and the care they receive exceeds their expectations.
• Patients who were seen in the clinic and where clinically indicated, were given open access to the clinic for a period after they have been “discharged”. This minimised delays for patients to be seen again for the same problem by avoiding the need to go back to their GP and wait for another referral. Patients instead could contact the clinic secretary directly and request a review appointment. This was particularly helpful for patients who have recurrent conditions such as nose bleeds, vertigo attacks and recurrent ear infections requiring frequent micro suction.

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