The Clear Ear Clinic

Updated 11 December 2019

The Clear Ear Clinic is a stand-alone aural care service which specialises in ear wax removal by microsuction. Microsuction is a wax-removal technique which uses a binocular operating microscope to look straight into the ear canal and then wax is removed from the ear canal using a suction device at low pressure. Services are provided on a fee-paying basis only. No NHS funded treatment is available. The service offers consultations and treatment to both adults and children. More information can be found at: .

The service is located on the third floor of Lister House 11-12 Wimpole St, London, W1G 9ST. The building also houses several dental services which are not connected with this service. The building is owned by an oversees company. The service has a lease for the use of the rooms it occupies. The building is owned and managed on a day to day basis by a separate company.

The service is situated in central London and is well served by public transport. It’s opening hours are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9am to 7pm, Wednesday and Friday 9am to 5.30pm and Saturday 9am to 5pm. The provider also has another service located in Oxford. This is separately registered with CQC and so was not visited as part of this inspection.

The service was founded by a Consultant ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeon and a nurse specialist, who is also 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. It is a nurse led clinic which is operated by two ENT nurse specialists, one being the registered manager. The ENT consultant does not see patients at the micro-suction clinic. There is also a healthcare assistant (HCA), three part time reception staff and two administrative assistants.

The service is registered with CQC to provide the following regulated activities: Treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

How we inspected this service

We carried out this inspection as a part of our comprehensive inspection programme of independent health providers and to follow up on regulatory breaches found during a previous inspection. Our inspection team was led by a CQC lead inspector, who was supported by a GP specialist advisor and a nurse specialist adviser. The inspection was carried out on 28 October 2019. During the visit we:

• Spoke with the two specialist nurses and the non-clinical members of the leadership team.
• Spoke with two patients who use the service.
• Reviewed a sample of patient care and treatment records.

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 11 December 2019

CQC inspected the service on 13 July 2017. In line with CQC policy at the time, the service was not rated as a result of that inspection. We asked the provider to make improvements regarding their understanding of the duty of candour, infection control, medicines management, safeguarding training, risk management and governance. We checked these areas as part of this comprehensive inspection and found improvements had been made with regards to those specific failings at the inspection of 28 October 2019.

The Clear Ear Clinic is a stand-alone aural care service which specialises in ear wax removal by microsuction.

Feedback we received from patients who have used the service was positive. We received 15 completed comment cards and spoke with two patients during the inspection.

Our key findings were :

• The service had systems to assess, monitor and manage risks to patient safety. However, we have said the provider should review and improve its processes for significant events management and the taking of medical histories.
• The service assessed need and delivered care in line with current legislation, standards and evidence-based guidance.
• The service treated patients with kindness, respect and compassion.
• The service organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients were able to access services within an appropriate timescale and complaints were managed appropriately.
• There was a clear leadership structure in place, and staff told us that they felt able to raise concerns and were confident that these would be addressed.
• The service had a governance framework in place, however we have said the provider should review and improve quality monitoring activity, including clinical audits.

Although we did not find any breaches of the regulations, we have said the provider should:

• Review and improve its current arrangements for significant events to ensure there is a service specific policy and procedure in place. 
• Review the questionnaire currently in use to ensure a comprehensive medical history is taken so that staff have the complete information required before providing care and treatment
• Review quality improvement activity, including clinical audits.

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