The Wilbraham Practice

Updated 9 September 2022

Zerenia Clinic who are based at The Wilbraham Practice provides medical treatment for patients focused around the use of Cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs) by experienced medical staff working within the latest Governmental guidelines. Patients must have exhausted existing treatment options and have conditions where medical cannabis has been proven to deliver a significant therapeutic benefit. The provider is registered with the Care Quality Commission to carry on the regulated activities of Treatment of Disease, Disorder or Injury and Diagnostic and Screening Procedures.

The service is located at 9a Wilbraham Place, London, SW1X 9AE. The building entrance lobby is accessed via steps from the pavement. Wheelchair access is via a ramp at the front of the building. The service has access to consultation rooms and a waiting area for patients. However, at the time our inspection most consultations were taking place online.

The opening hours are 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday. Patients can also book appointments for Saturday mornings on occasions. The medical team comprises of consultants who specialise in Psychiatry and Chronic Pain, an Operations Manager and three administrators.

How we inspected this service

We reviewed information sent to us by the provider remotely prior to attending the site to reduce the time spent on site in line with our Covid-19 inspecting guidance. We spoke with the clinical director, registered manager, two consultants and administrative staff. We looked at records related to patient assessments and the provision of care and treatment. We also reviewed documentation related to the management of the service. We reviewed patient feedback provided to a third party.

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 9 September 2022

We carried out an announced inspection at The Wilbraham Practice on 14 & 20 July 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as Good.

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 The Wilbraham Practice as part of our inspection programme. This inspection was planned to check whether the service was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

The Operations Manager 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.

The Wilbraham Practice provides private medical services in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and online. They offer treatments that include Cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs) which are prescribed by experienced medical staff working within the latest Governmental guidelines.

Our key findings were:

• The service routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. They ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
• The provider had systems in place to protect people from avoidable harm and abuse.
• There was a clear vision to provide a safe, personalised, high quality service.
• All staff we spoke to felt valued by the leaders and said there was a high level of staff support and engagement.
• Patients could access care and treatment from the service within an appropriate timescale for their needs.
• The service had a business development strategy that effectively monitored the service provided to assure safety and patient satisfaction.
• The clinic was involved in a number of research projects to evidence the effectiveness and tolerability of CBPMs in patients with serious illnesses.
• We saw evidence that the provider was engaged with other global clinics in relation to furthering the understanding and developing this area of medicine.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services