Health centre passes quality inspection with flying colours

Company news

Jan 31, 2014

A Southend health centre has passed a national quality audit with flying colours.

St Luke’s Health Centre, in Pantile Avenue, received a routine inspection from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of all health and social care services in England. The CQC inspector passed the centre on all five core standards:

• treating people with respect and involving them in their care
• providing care, treatment and support that meets people’s needs
• caring for people safely and protecting them from harm
• staffing
• quality and suitability of management.

The centre is operated by Care UK, a leading independent provider of health and social care services, and services are commissioned by the local NHS. The centre is open every day from 8am to 8pm, offering a range of general practitioner services, including health information, advice and treatment for a range of minor illnesses and injuries.

The CQC inspector’s report praised the centre, saying: “We found that the provider had a good electronic records system in place that made it easier to provide safe and effective care and treatment to people using the service because staff had quick access to up to date, accurate information. We spoke with six people and three children using the service. Comments included, ‘When you want an appointment you actually get it,’, ‘They do care here,’ and ‘It's a really good service.’ People told us that the service was flexible to meet their needs.”

Lorna Salmon, centre manager at St Luke’s Health Centre, said: “We are pleased to have passed this important inspection and delighted with the comments from the inspector. The inspector’s conclusions are testimony to the dedicated work of the entire team at St Luke’s.”