A DIALYSIS service was inspected after concerns had been raised about the safe management of infection and the potential risk to patients who used the service.

In January, there was an outbreak of Covid-19 in the Dorset region which affected 40 dialysis patients and four members of staff at Renal Services UK (Ltd) – Poole.

Last week the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published the findings of its first ever inspection of the service at the Fulcrum Business Centre in Vantage Way since the facility was registered in October 2019.

It was ruled that the healthcare provider ‘requires improvement’ to ensure the dialysis service is safe, unrelated to the Covid outbreak in the Dorset region.

The centre was rated ‘good’ across the four other key inspection areas – effective, caring, responsive and well-led – and ‘good’ overall.

Some legal requirements were not being met by the provider, the CQC found.

The service was not always operating an effective system to ensure they met duty of candour requirements after a notifiable incident.

Inspectors found that the service was not following systems and processes to prescribe, administer and record medicines and it was not using a standardised tool to identify when a patient’s general condition was deteriorating.

It was also identified that some staff were not up to date with mandatory training. The CQC report said staff compliance with mandatory training had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was below target levels, however, the service had a strategy to improve training compliance.

Renal Services (UK) Ltd – Poole is an independent healthcare provider of dialysis treatments to patients living in Poole and the surrounding area.

The service is commissioned by a local NHS trust for patients who require regular dialysis and it is one of a handful of centres across the conurbation.

The medical procedure removes waste products and excess fluid from the blood when someone’s kidneys have stopped working properly.

A statement from Renal Services (UK) Limited said: “The health and safety of our patients and care teams is our top priority. Since the regional outbreak in Dorset in January and subsequent inspection by the CQC in March, we have assembled a task force at our clinic in Poole to diligently monitor and reinforce our extensive infection control practices. We will continue to work closely with the CQC and implement documented safety best practices to ensure that our team of professionals are in compliance with instituted protocols to help prevent the spread of the disease and protect our patients and care teams.”