Brigstock Skin & Laser Centre

Updated 13 June 2022

Brigstock Skin and Laser Centre is run by a provider of the same name. It operates only from 83 Brigstock Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 7JH.

Also based at the same location are an NHS GP practice and a service that provides dermatology and ear, nose and throat consultations under the supervision of consultants. These services are run by the same leadership team (two partners, one of whom is a GP), but are registered separately.

Brigstock Skin and Laser Centre offers a range of aesthetic services not regulated by CQC including wrinkle reduction and laser hair removal. They also offer the surgical removal of moles, cysts and warts, which is regulated by the CQC.

The clinic is open Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm and every other Sunday 10am to 4pm. There are two GPs, an aesthetic nurse, and five clinical technicians and an administration team.

How we inspected this service

We inspected the service on 13 May 2022. The team was led by a CQC inspector, who was accompanied by a GP specialist advisor.

During the inspection, we received feedback from people who used the service, interviewed staff, made observations and reviewed documents.

To get to the heart of patients’ 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 June 2022

This service is rated as Good overall.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Brigstock Skin & Laser Centre on 13 May 2022 as part of our routine inspection programme.

The service provides skin treatments, including minor surgery to remove moles, cysts and warts.

This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. There are some exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of regulated activities and services and these are set out in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Brigstock Skin and Laser Centre provides a range of non-surgical cosmetic interventions, for example laser hair removal and wrinkle reduction treatments which are not within CQC scope of registration. Therefore, we did not inspect or report on these services.

The managing partner 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.

Our key findings were:

• Risks to patients were generally assessed and well managed, although actions to mitigate risks were not consistently monitored to ensure they were effective.
• Audit was used to check care was delivered according to operating procedures.
• Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• There were arrangements to safeguard patients from abuse.
• Staff were allowed regular time for personal development, weekly meetings with the clinic manager to review their progress and annual appraisals.
• Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect.
• Information about how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review the mechanism by which actions to mitigate risks are monitored to ensure they are effective.

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