Archived: The Cosmetic Clinic

This service is rated as Requires improvement overall.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Requires improvement

Are services effective? – Requires improvement

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Requires improvement

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Cosmetic Clinic, Unit 8 North Lynn Business Village, Bergen Way, North Lynn Industrial Estate, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE30 2JG. The inspection was undertaken to rate the service as this was the first inspection since registration with CQC.

This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. There are some exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of regulated activities and services and these are set out in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The service provides surgical and non-surgical cosmetic treatments, some of which are in-scope such as non-surgical polydioxanone (PDO) thread lifts, joint injections and non-surgical orthopaedic consultations, and some treatments which are out of scope such as beauty treatments.

The Medical Director 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.

Our key findings were:

• The service did not have wholly effective systems and processes in place to keep people safe.
• We saw evidence that clinicians assessed needs, but care and treatment was not always delivered in line with current legislation, standards and guidance.
• Staff treated patients with compassion, respect and kindness and involved them in decisions about their care.
• The service organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. It took account of patient needs and preferences.
• There were clear responsibilities, roles and systems of accountability to support good governance and management, but these were not always effective.

The areas where the provider must make improvements as they are in breach of regulations are:

• Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

(Please see the specific details on action required at the end of this report).

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review post-operative written information so it is in a format which patients will easily understand.
• Review the consent process to ensure all necessary information is recorded.
• Review the whistleblowing policy to promote freedom to speak up.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

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