The Healthcare Commission has published a review of the care provided by Independent Sector Treatment Centres (ISTCs). Although the review offered reassurance about the quality of services provided, with patients rating services highly, the watchdog said that there are still too many gaps in the data to be able to compare the quality of care with that provided by the NHS.
The review concluded that patients were generally more positive about their care than those in the NHS and were given more choice on admission dates, but inspections found evidence that the standard of care had, on occasions, fallen short. One centre was required to improve its procedures for counting swabs and needles, and for minimising the risk of cross-contamination in surgery. Another was required to keep clearer records of equipment and to cut the risks of contamination during endoscopies. In both cases, the provider complied quickly.
The commission also found evidence of poor relationships between ISTCs and local NHS organisations in some places. The speed with which the ISTCs were set up left some healthcare organisations feeling excluded. As a result, some ISTC contracts do not reflect local needs and are not flexible enough to be changed as the needs for services change. The review added that ISTCs and the NHS need to work together to tackle practical obstacles to the integration of care, such as compatible IT systems. The commission also recommended a single regulatory framework for the care of all NHS patients regardless of where they are treated and the Department of Health is now planning this, with the creation of “Ofcare”.
