Lymington New Forest Hospital urgent treatment centre given 'good' rating from Care Quality Commission

THE urgent treatment centre at Lymington hospital has been given a clean bill of health by national watchdog inspectors.

Formerly the minor injuries unit, it was adjudged to be ‘good’ overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), with three ‘outstanding’ aspects.

Partnering Health Ltd (PHL) is commissioned to provide the service which runs from 8am to 9pm and helps patients with issues which are not critical or life threatening, such as sprains, broken bones, bites or stings.

It is independent of the hospital operator, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.

PHL chief executive Ross Brand was “absolutely delighted” with the judgement, adding: “The Lymington team have worked extremely hard, under very challenging circumstances during the pandemic, so the outcome is a testament to the outstanding team, their teamwork and dedication to patients.”

CQC inspectors visited the unit in October as part of a planned inspection and graded it ‘good’ in all five areas of it being safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.

It noted there were three areas of “outstanding practice”, such as a “hot hub” in the car park where patients with Covid-19 symptoms could be seen by health practitioners face to face.

PHL has also developed “unique clinical pathways” based on patient presentations, such as for electrical injuries; and a rape and sexual assault procedure that ensured patients could be referred to the right service quickly.

Two members of staff had been trained in the Esther model of care, to create patient-centred care through feedback, and held regular virtual Esther cafes with patients, and adopted a point-of-entry traffic light system.

The CQC inspectors said the service had good systems to manage risk, routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of care, and staff had the skills, knowledge and experience for their roles and were provided with training to meet patient needs.

There were appropriate staffing levels, patients were treated with “compassion, kindness, dignity and respect”, able to access care and treatment within an appropriate timescale, and there was a strong focus on continuous learning.