All inspections: Optical Express - London (Harley Street) Clinic

We carried out a review of the data available to us about Optical Express - London (Harley Street) Clinic on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.

This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.

If you have concerns about Optical Express - London (Harley Street) Clinic, you can give feedback on this service.

We had not previously rated this service. We rated it as good because:

The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information.
Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

Optical Express Harley Street is operated by Optical Express Limited. Optical Express is a nationwide company offering general optometric services. The clinic provides laser vision correction procedures for adults aged 18 years and above. The clinic is based on the ground floor of a multipurpose building in London.

The clinic has pre-screening amenities, consultation rooms, and a laser treatment suite, which consists of a laser treatment room and surgeon’s treatment room.

We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out the announced part of the inspection on 13 September 2017, along with an announced visit to the clinic on 22 September 2017.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask the same five questions of all services: are they safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs, and well-led? Where we have a legal duty to do so we rate services’ performance against each key question as outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.

Throughout the inspection, we took account of what people told us and how the provider understood and complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

We regulate refractive eye surgery services but we do not currently have a legal duty to rate them. We highlight good practice and issues that service providers need to improve and take regulatory action as necessary.

We found the following areas of good practice:

Patient safety was monitored and incidents were investigated to assist learning and improve care.
Patients received care in visibly clean and suitably maintained premises and their care was supported with the right equipment.
The staffing levels and skills mix was sufficient to meet patients’ needs and staff assessed and responded to patient risks.
Patient records were detailed with clear plans of the patient’s pathway of care.
Medicines were stored safely and given to patients in a timely manner.
All staff had completed their mandatory training and annual appraisals. Care and treatment was provided by suitably trained, competent staff that worked well as part of a multidisciplinary team.
There was clear visible leadership within the services. Staff were positive about the culture within the service and the level of support they received.
There was appropriate management of quality and governance and mangers were aware of the risks and challenges they needed to address.

However, we also found the following issues that the service provider needs to improve:

Patient information leaflets, documents, and consent forms were only provided in English.
There were no formal interpreter services available for patients. Patients were advised to bring their own interpreter to the clinic, or use a family member.
There was no organisation vision or strategy in place.
Staff feedback, in the form of engagement surveys were not happening
The consent policy stated a “cooling off” period of three days prior to surgery procedure. The new Professional Standards for Refractive surgery (April 2017) recommends a “cooling off” period of one week, less so in exceptional circumstances. While the clinic did provide patients with a terms and conditions document, which supplied information on the procedures available and the associated risks and benefits, which patients took away with them. The actual time frame between the confirmed consent with the surgeon and actual treatment was usually three days.

Amanda Stanford

Interim Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals

Optical Express - London (Harley Street) Clinic

All Inspections

6 July 2023

During a monthly review of our data

13 September 2022

During a routine inspection

13 and 22 September 2017

During a routine inspection