We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Nuffield Health Stoke Poges Fitness and Wellbeing Centre on 28 February 2018 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.

Nuffield Health Stoke Poges Fitness and Wellbeing Centre is part of Nuffield Health, a not-for-profit healthcare provider and provides health assessments that include a range of screening processes. Following the assessment and screening process, clients undergo a consultation with a doctor to discuss the findings of the results and any recommended lifestyle changes or treatment planning.

The health assessment clinic is based within the grounds of the fitness centre. Clients seen in the clinic are either private clients or employees of organisations who are provided with health and wellbeing services as part of their employee benefit package. The services are provided to adults privately and are not commissioned by the NHS.

The service is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. For example, physiotherapy and lifestyle coaching do not fall within the regulated activities for which the location is registered with CQC.

As part of our inspection we asked for CQC comment cards to be completed by clients prior to our inspection. We received 27 completed comment cards which were all positive about the standard of care they received. The service was described as excellent, professional, helpful and caring. Further client comments stated they found the assessments informative, interactive and handled with great sensitivity.

Our key findings were:

• A range of health assessments were offered on a private, fee paying basis to adults only.

• The clinic had systems to keep people safe and safeguarded from abuse. Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses.

• Staff assessed clients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance.

• Clients were provided with information about their health and with advice and guidance to support them to live healthier lives.

• Feedback from clients about the care and treatment they received was positive.

• The service encouraged and acted on feedback from both clients and staff. Client survey information we reviewed showed that people who used the service had given positive feedback about their experience.

• The health assessment clinic had a clear vision to provide a safe and high quality service, this aligned to the wider Nuffield Health vision and values.

• There were clinical governance systems and processes in place to ensure the quality of service provision. Staff had access to all standard operating procedures and policies.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

People using Nuffield Health – Stoke Poges said they were happy with the service they received. One person said, “I have no complaints with the physiology service, it is excellent”. Another person said, “The service is great. I get my annual check-up and it puts my mind at rest. Everything is explained really well”.

We found from looking at records and speaking with people who used the service that people were being given appropriate information regarding their assessment and consultation. People were involved in making decisions about how their needs could be met and their consent was obtained as appropriate. People told us that their investigations and results from tests were explained clearly by the staff and they understood what was being said.

The people we spoke with using the service said that they felt safe and had no concerns about the care and support they received.

We saw that there were enough suitably trained and experienced staff to meet the needs of people using the service. The staff were well supported and felt positive about the service.

The provider had various methods that were used to ensure the quality of the service was assessed and monitored. Meetings, satisfaction surveys and management audits were in place and records were available.

People who had used the services provided feedback to us of a positive nature. The experience was said to be good, with a pleasant approach from staff on arrival. Information, such as results were supplied in a timely fashion, and staff gave a good explanation of investigations.