Following inspection, Livi has announce it’s become first digital healthcare provider to be rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), England’s independent health and adult social care regulator.
Livi, which was established in 2018, enables patients to see GPs and healthcare professionals via a video through their smartphone or tablet.
Its service operates seven days a week, and provides patient management technology to more than 4,000 GP practices. Through NHS partnerships, it is also available free at the point of use to more than five million patients, and can also be accessed by anyone in the UK on a pay-as-you-go basis. The company employs its own GPs, to support capacity to the NHS as required.
The recently published CQC report was based on an inspection that took place on 5 May 2021. Livi, which had never been inspected by the body before, was awarded an ‘Outstanding’ rating in two out of five categories, as well as a ‘Good’ rating in the other three, with an ‘Outstanding’ rating overall.
The key questions of the report that Livi received ‘Outstanding’ for were ‘are services responsive’ and ‘are services well-led?’, while the company was rated as ‘Good’ for ‘are services effective?’, ‘are services caring?’, and ‘are services safe?’
Livi’s work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, when the company was asked by NHS England to run the COVID Home Monitoring Service (CHMS), was also highlighted. The service was developed and implemented in just 30 hours, allowing patients 24-hour access to care, seven days a week, without the risk of exposure to COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the CQC also noted an area of improvement for Livi , which it told to “review the system for recording GPs’ NHS appraisals and ensure GP records of these are kept up to date.”
Dr Harriet Bradley, Livi UK Medical Director, said: “Giving people better access to high quality care is what drives us, and this ‘Outstanding’ rating means patients can be assured they are receiving the highest standards of care from their Livi GP. Our team of clinicians and digital specialists worked ceaselessly throughout the pandemic to provide patients with safe, effective and accessible healthcare. As we emerge from lockdown we will continue to apply the lessons we learned and further improve our services in support of the NHS.”
Juliet Bauer, Livi UK Managing Director, added: “This is a really exciting time for digital healthcare. The CQC rating Livi ‘Outstanding’ shows that when digital is done well it can be central to providing safe, effective and responsive care. Our model of partnering with the NHS whilst innovating at scale helps us to achieve the widest access, and the best possible outcomes for patients.”
Visit cqc.og.uk to read the full review online.
