Chief Executive’s Statement
I am pleased to welcome you to our Quality Accounts 2015.
Now in their sixth year, Quality Accounts continue to provide a truly
objective metric for us, and others, to gauge the quality of our 59
hospitals and the services they provide against a broad range of
criteria.
The past year has seen another step change in the way healthcare
providers are externally challenged on the quality they provide.
Following a spate of high profile controversies around patient safety,
the Care Quality Commission, the UK’s health regulator, has
introduced a new inspection regime designed to raise standards.
No healthcare provider can afford to be complacent and whilst I
believe BMI’s hospitals provide safe and effective care, we should
always be striving for improvement.
To this end we recently introduced a new Quality Strategy, which
articulates how we will provide the best possible care and strive for continual improvement, and live up to
our brand promise to be “serious about health, passionate about care”. Its four core themes – safety,
clinical effectiveness, patient experience and quality assurance – provide our staff with the platform to
consistently deliver the care patients, their insurers, and commissioners expect and deserve.
BMI hospitals have been enthusiastic participants in the pilot programme of the new CQC inspection
regime for private providers, and to ensure our facilities are prepared we have developed a selfassessment tool to enable hospitals to compare their perceptions of themselves with those of the external
inspectors. The rigorous inspection process itself also underpins the sharing of best practice between
hospitals which further drives improvement and consistency.
BMI Healthcare strives to provide the best care but the ultimate arbiters of whether we succeed are our
patients. We are committed to monitoring every aspect of the care we provide, and the results of the
detailed questionnaires we ask patients to complete inform improvement. We aim to provide a consistent,
high quality patient experience and an environment that empowers our consultants to excel. Providing a
dependably high quality of care requires constant focus on improvement; the most recent independent
research conducted for BMI shows that over 98% of our patients rate their care as excellent or very good.
The information available here has been reviewed by the Clinical Governance Board and I declare that as
far as I am aware the information contained in these reports is accurate. Finally I would like to thank all
the staff whose application, professionalism and ceaseless commitment to improvement is recognized
here and in the positive experiences of the patients we care for. Since I joined BMI late last year, I have
witnessed this firsthand on my many visits to our hospitals and I am committed to ensuring we build on
that success.
Jill Watts, Group Chief Executive
Hospital Information
BMI The Somerfield Hospital is set in a beautiful Grade 2 listed building. Originally 4 houses we
have 31 acute beds admitting a variety of surgical and medical conditions. We offer a large
range of specialties including orthopaedics, gynaecology and urology. We are able to admit
children over 12 years of age for a number of procedures and have a dedicated paediatric team
on site to care for them. We also are skilled in the care of medical emergency patients including
abdominal and chest conditions. All our rooms are private with en suite facilities and many
display the original features of the building including fireplaces and ceilings.
Our Consulting Suite offers a varied selection of appointment times and has 138 Consultants of
differing specialties. Here we can see children over 3 years of age for an appointment with one
of our experienced Consultants. We can also offer a range of diagnostic tests in the department
including hysteroscopies and cystoscopies in our comfortable, dedicated treatment rooms.
Our committed radiology department has on site services including ultrasound, bone
densitometry and a one stop breast clinic which includes a digital mammogram. We also enjoy a
partnership with Allied Healthcare to provide an on-site wide bore MRI scanner. We can offer a
CT appointment in our mobile CT scanner that visits us weekly to ensure that our clients are
given the quickest and best possible service.
We have 3 theatres including an endoscopy suite and minor ops unit and have a fully equipped
physiotherapy suite that also offers hydrotherapy and group sessions.
Our Medical Centre offers a choice of health screens and an experienced travel and vaccination
clinic both at a corporate level and to our local community.
This year we have undergone extensive refurbishment both externally and internally. The
outside of the hospital has been comprehensively rejuvenated and repainted. New carpets and
flooring have been fitted throughout the interior of the building and all our original windows have
been restored and repainted. We are continually investing in new, modern equipment so that we
are confident that we are offering the very best to the patients under our care.
50% of our patients are referred to us directly from the NHS either via Choose and Book or Spot
contracts. These can include a whole array of procedures from purely diagnostic tests to a full
surgical pathway.
BMI Healthcare is registered as a provider with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) under the
Health & Social Care Act 2008. BMI The Somerfield is registered as a location for the following
regulated services:•
•
•
Treatment of disease, disorder and injury
Surgical procedures
Diagnostic and screening
The CQC carried out an unannounced inspection on 03 February 2014 and found:
Consent to care and treatment
Care and welfare of people who use services
Management of Medicines
Requirements relating to workers
Assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision
The Somerfield Hospital has a local framework through which clinical effectiveness, clinical
incidents and clinical quality is monitored and analysed. Where appropriate, action is taken to
continuously improve the quality of care. This is through the work of a dedicated
multidisciplinary group and the Medical Advisory Committee.
Regional Clinical Quality Assurance Groups monitor and analyse trends and ensure that the
quality improvements are operationalised. Through local clinical governance one area we have
developed is our infection control protocols in order to actively reduce the number of superficial
post-operative wound infections we see.
At corporate level the Clinical Governance Board has an overview and provides the strategic
leadership for corporate learning and quality improvement.
There has been renewed focus on robust reporting of all incidents, near misses and outcomes.
Data quality has been improved by ongoing training and database improvements. New reporting
modules have increased the speed at which reports are available and the range of fields for
analysis. This ensures the availability of information for effective clinical governance with
implementation of appropriate actions to prevent recurrences in order to improve quality and
safety for patients, visitors and staff.
At present we provide full, standardised information to the NHS, including coding of procedures,
diagnoses and co-morbidities and PROMs for NHS patients.There are additional external
reporting requirements for CQC, Public Health England (Previously HPA) CCGs and Insurers
BMI is a founding member of the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) UK – where
we produce a data set of all patient episodes approaching HES-equivalency and submit this to
PHIN for publication. The data is made available to common standards for inclusion in
comparative metrics, and is published on the PHIN website http://www.phin.org.uk. This website
gives patients information to help them choose or find out more about an independent hospital
including the ability to search by location and procedure.
1. Safety
1.1 Infection prevention and control
The focus on infection prevention and control continues under
the leadership of the Group Director of Infection Prevention and
Control and Group Head of Infection Prevention and Control, in
liaison with the Infection Prevention and Control Lead at The
Somerfield Hospital
We have had: • 0 MRSA bacteraemia cases/100,000 bed days
• 75 MSSA bacteraemia cases /100,000 bed days
• 0 E.coli bacteraemia cases/ 100,000 bed days
• 0 cases of hospital apportioned Clostridium difficile in the last 12 months.
• SSI data is also collected and submitted to Public Health England for Orthopaedic
surgical procedures. Our rates of infection are;
1.4% for Hips
4.9% for Knees
We have focused on the pre assessment hygiene including and required hair clipping of surgical
sites now being completed by nursing staff in a clean, ward environment. We also ensure that
our surgical patients are educated at pre assessment and know to have a shower before
admission and use any antimicrobial body and hair wash recommended.
Environmental cleanliness is also an important factor in infection prevention and our patients
rate the cleanliness of our facilities highly.
1.2 Patient Led Assessment of the Care Environment (PLACE)
We believe a patient should be cared for with compassion and dignity in a clean, safe environment.
Where standards fall short, they should be able to draw it to the attention of managers and hold the
service to account. PLACE assessments will provide motivation for improvement by providing a clear
message, directly from patients, about how the environment or services might be enhanced.
In 2013 we introduced PLACE, which is the new system for assessing the quality of the patient
environment, replacing the old Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT) inspections.
The assessments involve patients and staff who assess the hospital and how the environment
supports patient’s privacy and dignity, food, cleanliness and general building maintenance. It focuses
entirely on the care environment and does not cover clinical care provision or how well staff are
doing their job.
The results will show how hospitals are performing nationally and locally. The results of the 2014
showed areas that needed improving that have been acted upon.
1. It was noted that the external part of the building was in need of repair and refurbishment as
it had peeling paint and looked tatty giving a poor first impression of the hospital. We began
an extensive project to renew these areas and this is now on a rolling programme so will be
completed regularly to maintain the current standard.
2. The internal signage was also shown to be unclear and at a wrong height making navigation
on site challenging. A full analysis was undertaken and all the signage lowered and
reproduced in a standard, easy read font. Many additional signs were put up to make finding
the correct destination clear and problem free.
3. It was also felt that the lighting in patient rooms was difficult to access and dim. All rooms
now have lights above and behind the bed head with easy remote control switches for
patient comfort and convenience.
1.3 Venous Thrombo-embolism (VTE)
BMI Healthcare, holds VTE Exemplar Centre status by the Department of Health across its
whole network of hospitals including, The Somerfield. BMI Healthcare was awarded the Best
VTE Education Initiative Award category by Lifeblood in February 2013 and were the Runners
up in the Best VTE Patient Information category.
We see this as an important initiative to further assure patient safety and care. We audit our
compliance with our requirement to VTE risk assessment every patient who is admitted to our
facility and the results of our audit on this has shown 100% of our patients are correctly and
effectively assessed for VTE risk and treated appropriately, this figure will be maintained
through close monitoring and staff commitment.
The Somerfield reports the incidence of Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) through the corporate
clinical incident system. It is acknowledged that the challenge is receiving information for
patients who may return to their GPs or other hospitals for diagnosis and/or treatment of VTE
post discharge from the Hospital. As such we may not be made aware of them. We continue to
work with our Consultants and referrers in order to ensure that we have as much data as
possible.
In 2014 we had 0.19 VTE incidences per 100 admissions.
2. Effectiveness
2.1 Patient reported Outcomes (PROMS)
Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) are a means of collecting information on the
effectiveness of care delivered to NHS patients as perceived by the patients themselves.
PROMs is a Department of Health led programme.
Latest results can be found by going on the online SOLAR system provided to you by Quality
Health.
For the current reporting period, our return rates for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacements
were not high enough to provide any meaningful data for 2014. We shall continue to encourage
returns through 2015.
2.2 Enhanced Recovery Programme (ERP)
The ERP is about improving patient outcomes and speeding up a patient’s recovery after
surgery. ERP focuses on making sure patients are active participants in their own recovery and
always receive evidence based care at the right time. It is often referred to as rapid recovery, is
a new, evidence-based model of care that creates fitter patients who recover faster from major
surgery. It is the modern way for treating patients where day surgery is not appropriate.
ERP is based on the following principles:-
1. All Patients are on a pathway of care
a. Following best practice models of evidenced based care
b. Reduced length of stay
2. Patient Preparation
a. Pre Admission assessment undertaken
b. Group Education sessions
c. Optimizing the patient prior to admission – i.e. HB optimisation, control comorbidities, medication assessment – stopping medication plan.
d. Commencement of discharge planning
3. Proactive patient management
a. Maintaining good pre-operative hydration
b. Minimising the risk of post-operative nausea and vomiting
c. Maintaining normothermia pre and post operatively
d. Early mobilisation
4. Encouraging patients have an active role in their recovery
a. Participate in the decision making process prior to surgery
b. Education of patient and family
c. Setting own goals daily
d. Participate in their discharge planning
96% of all our surgical patients undergo a full nurse led pre assessment to ensure that any
complications to recovery can be identified and minimized. The 4% missing can be explained by
the urgency of the surgery or simply the time restraints of patient’s availability. All our patients
are monitored during surgery to ensure their temperatures are optimised and signs of poor
hydration are acted upon promptly. By setting clear goals and communicating with our patients
our average stay for major joint replacements is less than 3.5 days.
2.3 Unplanned Readmissions within 31 days and unplanned returns to theatre.
Unplanned readmissions and unplanned returns to theatre are normally due to a clinical
complication related to the original surgery.
All patients are closely monitored post operatively to monitor for any complications. These are
sometimes unavoidable but it is important that they are noticed and acted upon without delay.
All patients are not discharged until a strict check list has been satisfactorily completed and all
members of the team are happy with the decision. Patients are then contacted within 24 to 72
hours and their well-being confirmed. This is audited monthly and 90% of our patients
successfully speak to a qualified team member within this timeframe. Any concerns are
addressed and the patient asked to return to the hospital if appropriate for further assessment.
3. Patient experience
3.1 Patient satisfaction
BMI Healthcare is committed to providing the highest levels of quality of care to all of our
patients. We continually monitor how we are performing by asking patients to complete a patient
satisfaction questionnaire. Patient satisfaction surveys are administered by an independent third
party.
BMI The Somerfield is continually looking for ways to improve our patient experience. We have
a multidisciplinary Quality Team that meet every quarter to look at ways to make improvements
throughout the Hopspital. We also have key staff members working as Patient Liaison Officers
talking with patients and visitors directly about their experiences. Each month feedback is
studied and remarks sent to Head of Departments to look for ways to learn from and act upon
any comments.
3.2 Complaints
In addition to providing all patients with an opportunity to complete a satisfaction survey BMI
The Somerfield actively encourages feedback both informally and formally. Patients are
supported through a robust complaints procedure, operated over three stages:
Stage 1: Hospital resolution
Stage 2: Corporate resolution
Stage 3: Patients can refer their complaint to independent adjudication if they are not satisfied
with the outcome at the other 2 stages.
The majority of complaints revolve around unexpected charges for tests including pathology.
We have placed clear posters in all sites including the Consultant Suite providing obvious
information to patients about these charges. We have also taken more time to highlight the
terms and conditions on the Registration Forms which patients sign, these explain about these
costs.
All complaints are seen and answered by the Executive Director with the help and support of
relevant staff in the hospital. They are discussed at a number of Hospital and Team meetings so
that any learning can be shared to prevent repetition of issues.
4. CQUINS
The Somerfield Hospital was given 2 local CQUINS to reach and clear targets for both.
The first was to monitor how many patients receive a follow up telephone call within 48 to 72
hours post discharge. The target started at 80% and rose through the year to 90%. These
targets have been met in full and at times exceeded.
The second was to ensure all surgical patients have a WHO checklist completed in full. The
target was 100% throughout the year. Although vast improvements have been made the target
was challenging to reach due to omissions of signatures. All checks were made so there was
never any compromise to patient safety.
5. National Clinical Audits
N/A
6. Research
No NHS patients were recruited to take part in research.
7. Priorities for service development and improvement
We are always looking for ways to develop our services and our current priorities are;
1. Developing our Ophthalmology Service to include treatment for Wet Macular
Degeneration.
2. To promote new services in the Consulting Rooms and extend the services and minor
procedures offered.
3. To offer a satellite fertility service in conjunction with Care Fertility.
8. Mandatory Quality Indicators
8.1 The value of the summary hospital-level mortality indicator (SHMI) for The Somerfield for
the reporting period.
Unit
0
Reporting Periods
(at least last two
reporting periods)
Oct 2012 – Jun 2014
National
Average
Highest National
Score
Lowest National
Score
0.9987
1.1849
0.58345
The Somerfield considers that this data is as described due to the excellent standard of care
and robust screening for any risks.
The Somerfield intends to maintain this standard to keep risks to our patients as low as
possible.
8.2 The Somerfield’s patient reported outcome measures scores for
(i) Groin hernia surgery
Unit
0.171
Reporting Periods
(at least last two
reporting periods)
Apr 14 – Sept 14
National
Average
Highest National
Score
Lowest National
Score
0.0786
0.278
-0.112
The Somerfield considers that this data is as described for the large volumes of hernia repairs
we do under a very specialist team.
The Somerfield will continue to monitor patients and incidents to ensure that standards are
maintained and where possible improved.
(ii) Varicose vein surgery
Unit
N/A
Reporting Periods
(at least last two
reporting periods)
Apr 14 – Sept 14
National
Average
Highest National
Score
Lowest National
Score
-7.395
-1.957
-12.571
Unfortunately The Somerfield did not undertake enough varicose vein surgery to provide any
meaningful data.
(iii) Hip replacement surgery
Unit
N/A
Reporting Periods
(at least last two
reporting periods)
Apr 14 – Sept 14
National
Average
Highest National
Score
Lowest National
Score
21.542
28.6
9.714
For the current reporting period, our return rates for Total Hip Replacements were not high
enough to provide any meaningful data for 2014. We shall continue to encourage returns
through 2015.
(iv) Knee replacement surgery during the reporting period.
Unit
N/A
Reporting Periods
(at least last two
reporting periods)
Apr 14 – Sept 14
National
Average
Highest National
Score
Lowest National
Score
16.641
24.429
5.833
For the current reporting period, our return rates for Total Knee Replacements were not high
enough to provide any meaningful data for 2014. We shall continue to encourage returns
through 2015.
8.3 (i) The percentage of patients aged 0-14 readmitted to a hospital which forms part of The
Somerfield within 28 days of being discharged from a hospital which forms part of the hospital
during the reporting period.
Unit
0%
Reporting Periods
(at least last two
reporting periods)
Apr 11 - Mar 12
National
Average
Highest National
Score
Lowest National
Score
11.45
14.35
7.96
The Somerfield considers that this data is as described due to the fact that we only admit over
12 year olds as day cases that have been assessed by our experienced paediatric team.
8.3. (ii) The percentage of patients aged 15 or over readmitted to a hospital which forms part of
The Somerfield within 28 days of being discharged from a hospital which forms part of the
hospital during the reporting period.
Unit
2%
Reporting Periods
(at least last two
reporting periods)
Apr 11 – Mar 12
National
Average
Highest National
Score
Lowest National
Score
10.01
14.51
5.54
The Somerfield considers that this data is as described due to our thorough pre assessment
screening and careful discharge package and only refers to patients over 18 years of age.
8.4 The Somerfield’s responsiveness to the personal needs of its patients during the reporting
period.
Unit
98%
Reporting Periods
(at least last two
reporting periods)
2013-2014
National
Average
Highest National
Score
Lowest National
Score
68.7
85
54.4
The Somerfield considers that this data is as described for the following reasons direct feedback
from patient questionnaires.
The Somerfield intends to take the following actions to improve this percentage, and so the
quality of its services, by actively listening to our patients and responding to what they say.
8.5 The percentage of patients who were admitted to The Somerfield and who were risk
assessed for venous thromboembolism during the reporting period.
Unit
99%
Reporting Periods
(at least last two
reporting periods)
Apr 14 – Jan 15
National
Average
Highest National
Score
Lowest National
Score
95
100
87
The Somerfield considers that this data is as described for the following reasons monthly audits
of assessments and spot checks.
The Somerfield intends to take the following actions to maintain and improve this score, and so
the quality of its services, by constant vigilance and monitoring.
8.6 The rate per 100,000 bed days of cases of C difficile infection reported within The
Somerfield amongst patients aged 2 or over during the reporting period.
Unit
0
Reporting Periods
(at least last two
reporting periods)
Apr 13 – Mar 14
National
Average
Highest National
Score
Lowest National
Score
14.7
37.1
0
The Somerfield considers that this data is as described for the following reasons surveillance of
infections
The Somerfield intends to uphold this score, and so the quality of the service by excellent
infection control and auditing.
Number of patient safety incidents that resulted in severe harm or death
Unit
0
Reporting Periods
(at least last two
reporting periods)
Oct 13 – Sept 14
National
Average
Highest National
Score
Lowest National
Score
40.2
97
0
Percentage of patient safety incidents that resulted in severe harm or death (Incidents per 100
Admissions)
Unit
0%
Reporting Periods
(at least last two
reporting periods)
Oct 13 – Sept 14
National
Average
Highest National
Score
Lowest National
Score
0.3
2.4
0.0
The Somerfield considers that this data is as described due to the robust internal incident
reporting process.
The Somerfield intends to continue this score, and so the quality of its services, by maintaining
high standards and due vigilance.
9. Non-Mandatory Quality Indicators
9.1 The percentage of patients who received care as inpatients during the reporting period,
who would recommend The Somerfield as a provider of care to their family or friends.
Unit
85.5%
Reporting Periods
(at least last two
reporting periods)
Jun 13 – Jan 14
National
Average
Highest National
Score
Lowest National
Score
66.23
94.38
35.63
The Somerfield considers that this data is as described as it is taken directly from patient
feedback.
The Somerfield intends to the following actions to improve this percentage, and so the quality of
its services, by constantly looking for issues patients have raised which we can improve upon.