Updated 27 March 2017
Battersea Healthcare Community Interest Company is a GP - owned community interest company and social enterprise set up to provide quality healthcare for the people of Wandsworth. The services provided are a Musculoskeletal Interface Clinical Assessment Service (MICAS) and dermatology outpatient services. These were provided through a network of partner organisations that make those services available across Wandsworth
The services they provide are commissioned by Wandsworth Clinical Commissioning Group, and so are available to all patients registered with GP practices in Wandsworth.
The Musculoskeletal Interface Community Assessment Service (MICAS) provides registered patients in Wandsworth with assessment and treatment of bone and joint conditions and the dermatology service caters for a range of dermatological conditions.
MICAS engage a mix of clinical skills including GPs with Specialist Interest (GPSI) in musculoskeletal problems (A GPSI supplements their role as a generalist by providing an additional service while still working in the community). They also engaged Sports & Exercise Medicine Consultants, and Extended Scope Physiotherapists (ESP). The ESP’s are specialist physiotherapists or who work in an extended role alongside a Medical Consultant). The Dermatology Service engaged the services of GPSIs, and Dermatology Consultants from acute hospitals. Approximately 2,800 new patients and 1,000 follow-up patients were seen in 2015 by MICAS, whereas the dermatology outpatients’ services saw 1,300 new patients and 750 follow-up patients. Children and young people over the age of three accounted for about 8% of the dermatology services provided.
All referrals are received and managed by a central hub located in Battersea. The hub is open from Monday to Friday 8.30am until 5pm and book patients into the appropriate service following clinical triage. The provider offers services from four locations in Wandsworth offering patients a choice of location and times to suit their lifestyle. We inspected the main head office as well as two GP practices where dermatology services were provided.
Jeremy Fenwick 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.
As part of our inspection, we asked for CQC comment cards to be completed by patients prior to our inspection. We received 21 comment cards which were positive about the standard of care received. We spoke with six people on the day of inspection and telephoned 16 people who also provided positive feedback about the service.