The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Mediscan Diagnostic Services Limited inadequate, issued two warning notices and told management further improvements must be made to the quality of services.
The rating and warning notices follow an unannounced inspection in November of the provider’s head office in Manchester and the Mediscan Centre in Oldham which delivers diagnostic, screening and surgical procedures to follow up concerns from a previous visits.
Following previous inspections in June and August 2021, the CQC suspended Mediscan’s registration due to the level of concerns found to keep people safe. This included all the company’s satellite sites across England operating under the provider’s registration.
The suspension expired on 25 November but conditions remain on Mediscan’s registration meaning it cannot perform invasive procedures such as endoscopy and transvaginal scans.
Following this latest inspection both services were rated inadequate overall as well as being inadequate for being safe and well-led, and two warning notices were issued due to risks identified with safe care and treatment and good governance.
What inspectors found
The latest inspection found staff did not always understand how to protect patients from abuse or control infection risk well.
The service was also found to not always manage safety incidents well and concerns remain about the competency and recruitment checks for agency staff.
However, inspectors also found that improvements had been made to providing evidence around lessons learned, that some improvements had been made policies and monitoring processes as well as to the appraisal process for staff and there were plans to hold supervision meetings to provide support and development.
Mediscan was also found to have updated consent documentation for intimate ultrasound examinations to meet with national guidance.
Necessary improvements not made
Commenting on Mediscan’s performance at inspection, Karen Knapton, CQC’s head of hospital inspection, said: “During our latest inspection of Mediscan Diagnostic Services Limited, while we saw some improvements, we were still not assured that all the necessary improvements had been made since we last inspected.
“At our previous inspection, we had concerns regarding staff not having the correct level of safeguarding training, and some staff not knowing what a safeguarding incident might be or how to identify one which placed people at significant risk. Training compliance had improved but the processes to manage and refer safeguarding concerns was still not clear for staff.”
Knapton added that while some improvements had been made regarding the management of risks, issues and staff performance, there was no process in place to assess and monitor these improvements so learning could not be shared and embedded.
She also expressed disappointment that inspectors had found safety incidents continued to be poorly managed.
“Steps had been taken to strengthen the leadership structure and the service was receiving support from external agencies. The service must now plan for an effective long-term leadership team so the necessary improvements can be embedded,” Knapton continued.
“We will continue to monitor this service and if insufficient improvement is made, we will use our enforcement powers further to ensure people receive appropriate and safe care.”
Health & Protection contacted Mediscan for comment but has not received a response.