The Care Quality Commission
  • Hospital
  • Independent hospital

London Hair Transplant Clinic

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

48a High Street, Edgware, HA8 7EQ

Provided and run by:
London Hair Transplant Clinic Ltd

Important: This service was previously registered at a different address - see old profile

All Inspections

14 April 2023 & 20 April 2023

During an inspection looking at part of the service

Our rating of this service improved. We rated it as requires improvement because:

We carried out a focused follow up inspection of Safe, Effective and Well led domains to check compliance with concerns identified in conditions imposed in February 2023 and warning notice imposed in March 2023. At this inspection we found:

  • Although the provider had taken action to comply with the provisions of Regulation 12: Safe Care and Treatment, and Regulation 17: Good Governance, there were still some areas of poor practice.
  • The service did not always control infection risk well. Staff did not always use equipment and control measures to protect patients, themselves and others from infection.
  • The design, maintenance and use of facilities, premises and equipment did not wholly keep people safe.
  • The service did not always use systems and processes to safely prescribe, administer, record and store medicines.
  • Leaders did not fully manage the priorities and issues the service faced. They did not always identify and escalate relevant risks and issues. There was no formal written strategy to turn the vision of the service into action. Not all staff could access systems to find the data they needed to understand performance, make decisions and improvements.

However:

  • 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. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records.
  • The service had recently implemented systems to monitor the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent.
  • Leaders were visible and approachable in the service for patients and staff. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care.

23 February and 10 March 2023

During a routine inspection

This was our first inspection of the service. We rated it as inadequate because:

  • The service was not able to evidence they had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. There was no clear plan to define which training was required for staff. Staff lacked training in protecting children from abuse and did not proactively manage safety well. The service did not control infection risk well. Staff inconsistently assessed risks to patients and there was no evidence they acted on identified risks. Staff kept poor care records. Medicines were not managed well and safety incidents were not all reported.
  • Staff were not auditing the quality of care they provided. They did not have clear policies and protocols to guide them how to deliver care consistently and in line with national guidelines. Managers could not demonstrate how they knew staff were competent for their roles.
  • The service took account of only some patients’ individual needs and did not make it clear how to complain. Managers were unclear on their complaints policy and processes.
  • Leaders were ineffective and did not make it easy for staff to be clear about their roles and responsibilities. Governance processes were ineffective and the service lacked accurate data to identify performance issues and make changes. Managers were not clear about the risks facing the service or how to manage them.

However:

  • Staff were observed to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) and some of the environment was designed to meet national guidelines.
  • Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness and respected their privacy and dignity while they were having treatment.
  • Appointments were booked with patients when they wanted them.