Archived: EdgCARE at The Royal Free Hospital

Updated 22 May 2019

Edgcare at The Royal Free Hospital is a location registered under the provider Edgcare Ltd. Edgcare Ltd was established in 2015 and has three site locations including the location site address we visited for this inspection: Lyndhurst Rooms at The Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, London, NW3 2QG. This location opened in October 2018. The service is registered with CQC to undertake the following regulated activities: Treatment of Disease, Disorder or Injury.

Dr Mark Semler 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. The provider offers a pre-booked private doctor service.

The practice has a consultation room and shares a reception area located on the first floor of The Royal Free Hospital in the Lyndhurst Rooms.

The service refers patients to NHS services including back to their own GPs and other private services.

Our inspection team was led by a CQC lead inspector. The team included a GP specialist adviser.

Prior to the inspection we reviewed information requested from the provider about the service they were providing. During the inspection we spoke with doctors and reception. We viewed a sample of key policies and procedures, viewed patient records, made observations of the environment and infection control measures.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?
• Is it effective?
• Is it caring?
• Is it responsive to people’s needs?
• Is it well-led?

These questions therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 22 May 2019

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 11 March 2019 to ask the service the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found that this service was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this service was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found that this service was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found that this service was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that this service was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the service was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Edgcare at The Royal Free Hospital is an independent doctor service based in North London. The provider supplies private general practitioner services. Dr Mark Semler 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.

Our key findings were:

• Systems were in place to keep people who used the service safeguarded from abuse.
• There was a protocol in place to ensure identity checks were undertaken when a patient presented at the service for the first time.
• Doctors made use of NICE guidelines and shared learning from complex patient cases.
• The service had systems to update external bodies such as GPs and consultants of care being provided to patients.
• All staff members were up-to-date with training relevant to their role.
• Systems were in place to protect personal information about people who used the service.
• The service carried out assessments to identify and mitigate risks including those associated with fire and infection.
• The service used a range of visual and written materials to help people understand and make decisions about their care and treatment.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice