Brighton Nuffield MRI & CT Unit is operated by Alliance Medical Limited. The service registered with the CQC in 2010. It was last inspected in 2014 under the previous CQC inspection methodology, with a follow-up desk based inspection in January 2015 and at that time met the standards that it was measured against.

We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out the unannounced part of the inspection on 15 January 2019.

We rated the service as good overall.

Our key findings were as follows:

• Staff had the right qualifications, skills, knowledge, and experience to undertake their roles and responsibilities. They had access to training and were supported by service leaders.

• There were effective systems to protect patients from harm and an incident reporting culture. Learning from incidents was disseminated to staff.

• The radiology equipment was maintained to a high standard. All equipment was subject to a comprehensive preventative maintenance programme as well as daily and weekly quality assurance checks.

• Staff used evidence based care and treatment in line with national guidance and local policies

• Patients had timely access to appointments.

• The service sought the views of staff, patients, and stakeholders to drive improvement within the service.

• Policies and procedures reflected best practice and national guidance and there was oversight in relation to the management and development of policies and procedures.

However:

• Contrast media was not always recorded in ward patient records of care, in line with best practice.

• The resuscitation equipment was not always checked and record in line with the host site’s policy

Dr Nigel Acheson

Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals

We found that the provider had systems in place to ensure that before patients received any care or treatment they were asked for their consent and that the provider acted in accordance with their wishes.

Patients told us that they were given sufficient information about the procedures they were to be undertaking and that care was safe, protected their rights and met their needs. One patient told us “The staff could not have been kinder, especially as I was so nervous and they were very supportive.”

Information was provided to staff about the procedures to follow if there were any concerns that patients were at risk of abuse and patients told us they felt safe in the hospital. We saw records to support that staff had received appropriate safeguarding training and were knowledgeable about the correct procedures to follow if they had concerns.

On the day of our inspection we found that there were not sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to protect the safety and welfare of patients using the service.

During our inspection we found that people were treated in clean, safe surroundings by efficient, well trained and competent staff. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit was organised and we found records to confirm that equipment was maintained in a safe condition and operated only be trained staff.

People who attended for appointments told us they were treated by helpful, polite and professional staff. We spoke with two people who were using the service at the time of our inspection but we were very aware of not interrupting the scanning process or placing any additional stress on individuals. One person that we spoke with told us they found that the staff had been very reassuring throughout the whole process and said “they were very kind explaining everything that would happen to me carefully as I was very nervous”.

We reviewed the mechanisms that the provider had in place to capture the views of people who had used the service and saw that these were positive. Information was available to encourage people who used the service to make complaints, suggestions or raise any concerns. One person who used the service had written on a feedback form 'thank you to all concerned for your courtesy and consideration during my scan”.

We spoke with three members of staff and found that there were enough staff employed with the right skills, training and support to provide care to meet the needs of the people who used the service.

The patients we spoke to told us that they had had a very good experience at Sussex Nuffield MRI. They said that the staff were very nice, and had met their individual needs well. People had enough information, and said they would know how to make a complaint.