Updated 6 February 2020
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. 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.
London Iryo Centre is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide Diagnostic and Screening procedures and Treatment of Disease, Disorder, Injury (TDDI).
London Iryo Centre provides a range of healthcare services for Japanese patients living in the United Kingdom. The clinic is recommended by the Japan Consulate for Japanese expatriates in the UK. The centre offers private consultations with doctors in a range of specialties ranging from doctors consulting services, medical emergency care, health checks, ultrasound, gynaecology paediatrician care, gastroenterology investigations and orthopaedics. Due to the wide range of specialisms offered at the service this inspection only focused on the primary care part of the service.
The provider explained that due to arrangements between the Japan Consulate and the General Medical Council, the doctors working at the service are granted temporary registration with the GMC. Therefore, the service is only allowed to be accessed by Japanese nationals. The service has other visiting doctors who work within the NHS specialising in a variety of care settings.
The service is open 24 hours a day, seven days per week. Between 8pm and 9am the service is accessible to patients via the on-call system which is accessed by calling the service and being connected to the doctors on duty who offer patients an option to attend the service if this is deemed necessary.
The service provides services to adults and children with Japanese nationality only.
The service was offered to patients would could afford the fees which were explained prior to treatment and were also available on patient leaflets.
The service employs four full time doctors, two part times doctors, two visiting radiologists, one gastroenterologist, and a visiting psychiatrist, who also works within the NHS.
The service employs one full time nurse, who is registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). The nurse is employed to assist the doctors and undertake some clinical administration work and does not deliver patient care. Other staff at the service are health care assistants undertaking phlebotomy roles, two pharmacists, a practice manager and a number of clerical and administrative staff.
The service has a principle doctor who is the organisations Chief operating officer as well as the CQC 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.
How we inspected this service
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.