Harold Wood Urgent Treatment Centre and Barking Urgent Treatment Centre have both been rated ‘good’ in Care Quality Commission (CQC) reports published earlier this month.
Run by the Partnership of East London Co-operatives (PELC), both centres were previously told they ‘required improvement’ following inspections in 2023 – and prior to this were ranked ‘inadequate’ and placed under special measures.
However, after assessments this summer, the centres have joined those at Queen’s and King George Hospitals to score ‘good’ ratings across all areas.
Inspectors found that 99.7 per cent patients at Harold Wood Urgent Treatment Centre – also known as Harold Wood Polyclinic – were seen within 15 minutes of registration for their clinical assessments.
This was the same at the Barking centre, which is located at Barking Hospital, while 99 per cent of patients at both sites were also seen and discharged within four hours.
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Patients can walk into both centres, and the reports stated that there is a system in place for each service to ensure the prioritisation of more serious cases.
This has led to patients being at the “centre of their care and treatment choices”, CQC said.
A total of 76 per cent of patients at the Barking centre were likely or very likely to recommend the department, while 13 out of 20 patients at Harold Wood said they felt involved about decisions surrounding their care.
A spokesperson for the Partnership of London Cooperatives said it is “delighted” that all of its urgent treatment centres are now rated ‘good’.
They said: “This transformation reflects the dedication and tireless work of our staff and could not be done without genuine collaboration.
“We are grateful for the ongoing support of our local partners, including colleagues at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, North East London NHS Foundation Trust and North East London ICB.
“We’re continually working to improve all of our centres and our priority remains ensuring patients across Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge have access to safe, high quality urgent care services when they need them most.”
