Practice Plus Group Surgical Centre, Gillingham

Updated 25 November 2022

Practice Plus Surgical group is a provider of surgical healthcare for both NHS and private patients. The centre offers general surgery, endoscopy services, ophthalmic procedures and orthopaedic surgery to adult patients.

The service is regulated to provide diagnostic and screening procedures, surgical procedures and the treatment of disease, disorder and injury. The current registered manager has been in post with the service since March 2020.

Between September 2021 and August 2022, the service carried out 5900 procedures, 3000 of these were endoscopy procedures.

The service was previously inspected in August 2016. It was rated as good in each domain.

Updated 25 November 2022

Our rating of this location stayed the same. We rated it as good because:

• The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients and acted on them. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information. Key services were available seven days a week.
• 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 provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
• Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

However:

• Staff were not always trained in key skills or on how to protect patients from abuse.
• Medicines were not always managed well.
• Records were not always filed appropriately.

Updated 9 December 2016

• There were systems to ensure incidents were reported and investigated, and learning points were implemented. Infection control practices, medicines management and the management of records adhered to relevant legislation and national guidance and protected patients from avoidable harm.

• There were appropriate staffing levels and staff were competent to do their jobs. They provided compassionate care that met individual’s needs.

• There were governance arrangements which monitored the quality and safety of care. Feedback was gathered from patients and used to improve the service. There was good engagement with the local community

• People could access care and waiting times met national targets.

• Staff were positive about the department’s leadership, were aware of the centre’s vision and values and felt supported to put them into practice.

Updated 25 November 2022

Our rating of this service stayed the same. We rated it as good.

See the summary above for details.