When you search for our centres online, you may see the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection rating from 2019, which recorded our service as ‘Requires Improvement’. You may also have seen the rating on our home page.
We think seven years is a long time in healthcare and we believe patients deserve an accurate picture of the care we provide today – not just a snapshot from 2019. That’s why we are sharing the results of our independent accreditations, which demonstrate the safety, quality and governance you can expect when you use our services.
What the 2019 inspection said
In 2019, the CQC highlighted some areas where we needed to improve. These included:
- Updating safeguarding policies and training,
- Strengthening how we checked the qualifications of the medical consultants we work with,
- Improving how we managed medicines and emergency procedures,
- Making sure our policies and audits reflected national standards,
- Being clearer about how patients can raise concerns.
What has changed since then
Since 2019, we have worked hard to put every one of these issues right:
- Stronger safeguarding – Although we benefit from a close partnership with the UCLH NHS Trust, giving us direct access to dedicated adult and paediatric safeguarding teams whenever concerns arise, we have also adopted the CQC’s recommendations on training. All of our staff now complete regular, high-level safeguarding training, and our safeguarding policies are reviewed frequently to ensure they remain current and robust.
- Consultant checks – we keep a detailed register of practising privileges so we can be confident that every consultant working with us is suitably qualified and insured.
- Medicines safety – we follow clear prescribing protocols, and we have comprehensive policies in place that outline how we manage medicines used at our sites. An independent pharmacy consultant assists us in making sure we are upholding the highest standards for medicines safety at all time.
- Audits and reviews – we run a rolling programme of audits covering all aspects of clinical provision, including safety, infection control, consent, complaints and more.
- Listening to patients – our complaints policy is now clearly available on our website, and feedback from patients is collected and reviewed regularly to improve our service.
Independent accreditation
You don’t just need to take our word to trust that the improvements we have made are good enough. Every year since our CQC inspection in 2019, our service has been independently assessed by the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS) against nationally recognised standards for diagnostic imaging centres like ours – these comprehensive standards are the Quality Standard for Imaging (QSI) and the BS70000 standard.
We value the annual UKAS accreditations because they involve assessment by people who truly understand imaging services, including:
- Imaging professionals who know the standards of good clinical practice,
- Medical specialists who understand patient pathways and safety, and
- Lay assessors who reflect the patient’s perspective.
This means our service is judged independently, against strict national standards, and from the viewpoint of every key stakeholder.
Since 2019:
- We have consistently maintained accreditation year after year.
- Inspectors have confirmed that our systems, governance and patient care meet the required standards for accreditation.
- Our most recent inspection in 2024 recommended continued accreditation, confirming that our improvements are firmly embedded.
What this means for our patients and visitors
You can be reassured that the service you receive today is safe, caring and high quality. While our official CQC rating has not been updated since 2019, independent evidence shows that our standards have improved and are being maintained every year. We look forward to welcoming the CQC when they next visit, so that we may have the opportunity to demonstrate our continued improvements and ensure their published report accurately reflects the safe, high-quality care we provide today.
Our commitment
We believe in openness and accountability. That’s why we are sharing this information – so you can make an informed choice and feel confident in the care we provide.
If you have any questions about our services or the standards we work to, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Our full CQC report is available here.