This service is rated as Good overall.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Barking Hospital on 28 August and the 4 September 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The service had good systems in place to safeguard children and adults from abuse.

• The service reviewed safety incidents and learned from them and improved their processes.

• The service routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.

• Staff involved and treated people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

• Patients were able to access care and treatment from the service within an appropriate timescale for their needs.

• Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their roles.

• The service had systems for sharing information with staff and other agencies to enable them to deliver safe care and treatment. However, the service did not have access to all of the patient’s medical records. The Clinical Commissioning Group confirmed that access to all patient notes was out of the services control. Although, recently more GP practices had moved to one computer software system and the service was looking at ways of funding this system.

• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement by the provider.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• The provider should review the policies and standard operating procedures to ensure that they fully reflect the services practices and sites.

• The provider should continue to review the systems and protocols for the management and prevention of infection control. This should include the review of non-clinical staffs immunisation records.

• The provider should continue to review the management and storage of medicines, this should include a risk assessment of emergency drugs and the security of prescriptions.

• The provider should review the necessity for child oximeters for the monitoring a child’s pulse and heart rate.

• The provider should consider the use of interpretation services to aid staff at the call centre.

• The provider should review the appraisal system to ensure it includes all call handlers.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice