Archived: MASTA Travel Clinic - Reading

Updated 13 December 2019

The head office for the provider, MASTA Limited (Medical Advisory Services for Travellers Abroad) is based in Leeds. They have many pharmacy and nurse-led travel clinics located throughout England and Ireland and have been established for over 30 years.

For this inspection, we visited the location at MASTA Travel Clinic – Reading, which is based within the BUPA Centre. The address of the clinic is: Centurion Court, 64 London Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5AS. The travel clinic is open between 9am and 6pm on a Monday and 8am to 5pm on a Tuesday. The service is seeking to recruit an additional member of staff to enable Friday opening. When the clinic is closed there is access to an alternative MASTA travel clinic in the Reading area. Clients cannot contact the clinic directly but via the customer care service line which will provide assistance to clients.

MASTA Travel Clinic - Reading provides a comprehensive travel service which includes travel advice, consultations and travel vaccinations. Other vaccinations are also available such as flu vaccinations. All services incur a consultation and treatment charge to clients. Costs vary depending upon the type of consultation and treatment. The service is also a Yellow Fever vaccination centre.

During our visit we:

• Spoke with the registered manager who is the travel clinic nurse for the service.
• Spoke with the Head of Clinical Standards for the provider.
• Reviewed service documents and policies.
• Reviewed the service’s client record database.
• Reviewed Care Quality Commission comment cards.

The service provided background information which was reviewed prior to the inspection. We did not receive any information of concern from other organisations.

To get to the heart of clients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?
• Is it effective?
• Is it caring?
• Is it responsive to people’s needs?
• Is it well-led?

These questions therefore, formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 13 December 2019

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at MASTA Travel Clinic – Reading on 18 November 2019 as part of our inspection programme.

The service has a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

As part of our inspection we asked for CQC comment cards to be completed by clients prior to our inspection visit. We received 13 comment cards, all of which were positive about the standard of care received.

Our key findings were:

• There was an effective system to manage infection prevention and control.
• The provider conducted safety risk assessments. It had appropriate safety policies, which were regularly reviewed and communicated to staff.
• Individual care records were written and managed in a way that kept clients safe.
• Clients’ immediate and ongoing needs were fully assessed. Where appropriate this included their clinical needs and their mental and physical wellbeing.
• Staff recognised the importance of people’s dignity and respect.
• Clients had timely access to initial assessment and treatment.
• Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were proud to work for the service.
• Client feedback about the service was positive.
• Information about how to make a complaint or raise concerns was available.
• Leaders worked closely with staff and others to make sure they prioritised compassionate and inclusive leadership.
• The service had a clear vision and values in place.
• Staff were aware of and understood the vision, values and strategy and their role in achieving them.
• Staff understood the requirements of legislation and guidance when considering consent and decision making.
• Governance arrangements were in place and regularly reviewed.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP
Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care