This clinic is rated as Outstanding

overall. (Previous inspection on 10/04/2018 not rated).

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Outstanding

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Outstanding

Are services well-led? – Outstanding

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Axis BMC Travel Clinic Limited. 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 clinic was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Axis BMC Travel Clinic provides pre-travel health assessments, travel health advice, anti-malarial medications, travel vaccinations and non-travel vaccinations. The clinic is also a registered yellow fever vaccination centre.

This clinic is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. There are some exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of service and these are set out in Schedule 2 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. At Axis BMC Travel Clinic those occupational health related services provided to clients under arrangements made by their employer or a government department are exempt by law from CQC regulation. Therefore, they did not fall into the scope of our inspection.

The travel health nurse advisor based at the location 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.

As part of our inspection we asked for CQC comment cards to be completed by clients prior to our inspection. We received 18 comment cards which were all positive about the service that had been provided.

Our key findings were:

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and a system in place for reporting and recording significant events.

• The clinic had clearly defined and embedded systems to minimise risks to customer safety.

• Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills and knowledge to deliver effective care and treatment.

• Information about services and how to complain was available.

• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The clinic proactively sought feedback from staff and customers, which it acted on.

We saw the following outstanding practice:

• The clinic managed local population groups who required vaccines, this included 250 families (wives and children) of the local Serving Officers. Additionally and in collaboration with local GPs and chemists, people with complex needs were referred to the clinic. For example, people who had complicated itineries or underlying conditions, all of which may mean they needed more detailed risk assessments or discussion with on call consultants. Also, search and rescue teams across many disciplines who required both and ongoing cover for vaccination worldwide.
• The clinic used three sensor clips in the refrigerators, a method of constant internal temperature monitoring every 15 minutes. More importantly, this provided the manager and a receptionist with an “early warning system” (as they received a text message on their phones) and allowed a rapid response by the staff if the refrigerator temperature dropped.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGPChief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 10 April 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 services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

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

Are services well-led?

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

Notable practice

• We saw that the manager’s mobile phone was linked to a system, whereby, if any of the refrigerators were accidentally unplugged or there was a power cut, they were instantly made aware by an alarm system.

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.

Axis BMC Travel Clinic provides pre-travel health assessments, travel health advice, anti-malarial medications, travel vaccinations and non-travel vaccinations. The clinic is also a registered yellow fever vaccination centre.

This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. There are some exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of service and these are set out in Schedule 2 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. At Axis BMC Travel Clinic those occupational health related services provided to customers under arrangements made by their employer or a government department are exempt by law from CQC regulation. Therefore they did not fall into the scope of our inspection.

The travel health nurse advisor based at the location 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.

As part of our inspection we asked for CQC comment cards to be completed by clients prior to our inspection. We received 16 comment cards which were all positive about the service that had been provided.

Our key findings were:

• There was an open and transparent approach to safety and a system in place for reporting and recording significant events.

• The clinic had clearly defined and embedded systems to minimise risks to customer safety.

• Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills and knowledge to deliver effective care and treatment.

• Information about services and how to complain was available.

• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The clinic proactively sought feedback from staff and customers, which it acted upon.