Archived: Clear Ear Clinic Oxford

Updated 20 April 2022

Clear Ear Clinic Oxford is one of two registered locations for the provider Clear Ear Clinic Limited. This report and findings refer solely to the service provided at the Oxford clinic.

Clear Ear Clinic Oxford opened in 2017 and is an 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.

The service is provided from:

• Clear Ear Clinic Oxford, 69-71 Banbury Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX2 6PE

The building also includes an orthodontic service and a medical imaging service which are not connected with the Clear Ear Clinic.

The clinic website is: www.clearearclinic.com

The service is open every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday with core opening hours of 9am to 5pm. This service is not required to offer an out of hours service. Patients who need medical assistance out of corporate operating hours are requested to seek assistance from alternative services. This is detailed in patient literature supplied by the service.

The service is a nurse led clinic which is operated by two ENT nurse specialists, one being the registered manager. The ENT consultant and co-founder does not see patients at the micro-suction clinic.

How we inspected this service

Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently. This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.

We carried out this inspection on 8 April 2022. Before visiting the location, we looked at a range of information that we hold about the service. During our visit, we interviewed staff, reviewed documents and clinical records, and made observations relating to the service and the location it was delivered from.

Due to the current pandemic, we were unable to obtain comments from patients via our normal process where we ask the provider to place comment cards in the service location. However, we were shown examples of patient feedback which the provider monitored on an ongoing basis. We did not speak to patients on the day of the site visit.

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 20 April 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 Clear Ear Clinic Oxford on 8 April 2022. The service was registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in November 2017. We carried out this first rated inspection as part of our regulatory functions. The inspection was undertaken to check whether the service was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

The clinic is a stand-alone aural care service which specialises in cerumen (earwax) removal by microsuction. Microsuction is a treatment where trained clinicians use a microscope to view the ear canal and a small suction device to remove cerumen.

The service was founded by a Consultant ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeon and an ENT nurse specialist, who is also the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the CQC 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.

Clear Ear Clinic Oxford is registered with the CQC to provide the following regulated activity:

• Treatment of disease, disorder or injury

Our key findings were:

• The service had systems to assess, monitor and manage risks to patient safety.

• In response to COVID-19, the service had implemented enhanced infection control procedures to keep patients, staff and visitors safe.

• The service assessed need and delivered care in line with current legislation, standards and evidence-based guidance for ear microsuction.

• 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.

• The service had a governance framework in place and had a focus on continuous learning and improvement. This included using the findings from an inspection at the sister clinic in London to make safety improvements at the Oxford clinic.

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