Archived: MASTA Travel Clinic - Leeds

Updated 19 July 2019

The provider MASTA (Medical Advisory Service for Travellers Abroad) Limited has more than 170 private clinics across the UK. McKesson UK (a glove pharmaceutical distributor and healthcare information technology company) owns MASTA. The head office for the provider is based in Leeds. The medical team, pharmacy team, head of operations and a range of departments such as human resources (HR) are based there.

The provider is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for the regulated activities of diagnostic and screening procedures and the treatment of disease, disorder or injury, to be delivered at the MASTA Travel Clinic Leeds.

MASTA Travel Clinic Leeds is located downstairs within the STA Travel Store located at 88 Vicar Lane, Leeds LS1 7JH, within the centre of Leeds. However, there is no clear signage to identify that the MASTA clinic is in the store. There are stairs leading down to a waiting area and two consulting rooms. Clients with any mobility problems are advised there is no lift access and can be referred to an alternative location. In addition, there are no toilet facilities for clients. This is identified on the website and upon making an appointment. However, MASTA staff have access to a toilet and kitchen area which is maintained by STA Travel. There are good travel links to the clinic and good access to public transport. There are no car parking facilities on site, however there are pay for parking facilities within a five-minute walk.

The opening hours of MASTA Travel Clinic Leeds are 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, with appointments available between 10.15am and 5pm. Clients can book via the provider’s website or via telephone with the central customer service team. The clinic provides telephone consultations to support travel risk assessment as well as face-to-face consultations with a travel health advisor.

The clinical team consists of three female travel health advisors; two of whom work three days per week and one works one day per week and is also a member of the provider’s medical team. One of the travel health advisors is also the regional area manager covering a range of MASTA travel clinics. There are no administration/reception staff based at the clinic.

Further information can be found at

Updated 19 July 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the service was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

MASTA Travel Clinic Leeds provides pre-travel assessments, travel vaccinations and travel health advice. In addition, the service holds a licence to administer yellow fever vaccines. All services incur a consultation charge to the client. Treatment and intervention charges vary, dependent upon what is provided.

This service is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. There are some general exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of service and these are set out in of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The provider has contracts in place with several large public sector organisations, where occupational health vaccinations and blood testing for immunity status are provided to the employees of those companies. These types of arrangements are exempt by law from CQC regulation. Therefore, they did not fall into the scope of our inspection.

The regional area manager (who is also the lead travel health advisor at Leeds) is the 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.

On the day of inspection, we had received 17 completed CQC comment cards, 16 of which were overwhelmingly positive. They described the service as being very good and efficient and staff as being professional, friendly, caring and informative. There was one negative comment relating to there being no toilets available for clients on the premises.

During the inspection we reviewed a range of systems and processes relating to governance, service delivery and customer care.

Our key findings were:

• There were clear systems in place to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the provider learned from them and improved their processes across all their clinic locations.
• The effectiveness and appropriateness of care provided by the service, was routinely reviewed. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence based guidance and up-to-date travel health information and advice.
• Clients received a personalised travel plan, known as a travel health brief, which contained a risk assessment, health information, including any additional health risks relating to their destinations, and an immunisation plan specific to them.
• Staff involved clients in decisions about their care and treatment. They treated clients with kindness, compassion, dignity and respect.
• There was a leadership and managerial structure in place with clear responsibilities, roles and accountability to support good governance.
• The provider was aware of the requirements of the duty of candour.
• Staff were aware of their own roles and responsibilities. They said they felt supported by leaders and managers who were accessible when appropriate.
• Policies and procedures were up to date and had been reviewed in line with the most recent best practice guidance.
• MASTA had introduced a revised policy, across all their locations, regarding the identification of children and parental responsibility.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Continue to liaise with the landlord of the premises to ensure the cleanliness of shared areas and maintenance of the building is fit for purpose. (However, it is noted MASTA does not have a direct responsibility for these issues.)
• Improve signage within the travel store to direct clients to the MASTA clinic.

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