Menu

HUC rated "Good" by Care Quality Commission

Our Hertfordshire and West Essex CQC inspection

Our services in Hertfordshire and West Essex have been rated “Good” in all domains by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an inspection in November last year. The inspection focused on the local NHS 111 service, which operates 24/7, 365 days a year, and also included the integrated clinical assessment (CAS) and Out of Hours services that includes nine hubs where patients are seen, as well as a home visiting service. HUC has been providing healthcare services across Hertfordshire since 2008.

 

CQC Good rating

The inspected services are supported by a wide range of professionals, including non-clinical call handlers, nurses, paramedics, GPs and pharmacists. During the two-day inspection, CQC inspectors visited our NHS 111 call centre in Welwyn Garden City and five out of nine Out of Hours centres.  Throughout their visit, inspectors fed back how passionate HUC staff are about their work and delivering the organisation’s mission of providing high-quality care.

Dr Sivanthi Sivakumar, Chief Medical Officer, said, “It really came through in the feedback from inspectors how impressed they were by our colleagues, praising them for their commitment, passion and for delivering person-centred care that is right for the patient. They also told us that it was evident everyone was living and breathing our values of providing caring, respectful, dynamic and collaborative services for our patients. I wholeheartedly agree with these comments and, like my colleagues, am proud to work in such a great working environment, something that was also highlighted in the report.”

 

Dr Sivanthi Sivakumar

Dr Sivanthi Sivakumar, Chief Medical Officer:

“I am particularly proud of two areas that were highlighted as outstanding practice, both of which related to how we support our colleagues: one is how we ensure new starters receive the support they need from the moment they join us, specifically the introduction of our Graduate Bay for new NHS 111 call handlers who have just completed training. Similarly, they praised our training programme as it includes additional modules to ensure patient safety and better support for our colleagues.”

The full report is available on the CQC website.