Background to this inspection
Updated
6 July 2021
Optimax Laser Eye Clinics Southampton is operated by Optimax Clinics Ltd. It provides services for patients who self-refer and pay for their own treatment.
We inspected this service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out a short notice unannounced inspection on 29 April 2021.
Optimax Laser Eye Clinics - Southampton is an independent eye clinic, registered with the CQC to provide the following regulated activities:
Diagnostic and screening procedures
Surgical procedures
Treatment of disease, disorder or injury care
The clinic is set over two floors, with disabled access to the clinic and toilet facilities. Patient facilities are all on the ground floor, which include one treatment room, a recovery area, one topography room, two consultation rooms, a counselling room and toilets.
The clinic provides laser eye surgery, refractive lens exchange, implantable contact lenses and intraocular surgery for cataracts, under local anaesthetic. The clinic does not offer treatments to patients under 18 or people with certain medical conditions.
The clinic manager is also the registered manager who has been in post since 2008.
This service was last inspected in August 2017, we did not have a legal duty to rate refractive eye surgery services at that time. Following this inspection, we told the provider that it should make improvements, even though a regulation had not been breached. During this inspection we found not all these improvements had been made.
Updated
6 July 2021
Safety was not managed well. Equipment was not always maintained. The service did not always control infection risk well and staff did not always follow the provider’s infection prevention and control policies or national guidance. Staff mostly assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept diligent care records. The service managed safety incidents well but learned lessons from them were not widely shared with staff. Staff collected safety information but did not always use it to improve the service.
The clinic manager’s responsibilities had changed since the redundancy of the clinic’s qualified nurse. The clinic manager reported to us that they were unable to perform some of their responsibilities due to operational pressures. There were limited opportunities for staff to develop their skills. Not all staff felt respected, supported and valued. Not all staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. Not all staff had received a formal appraisal.
Flammable materials and substances that could cause harm were not stored securely.
Leaders and teams did not always use systems to manage performance effectively. They did not always identify and escalate relevant risks and issues and recognise actions to reduce their impact.
Actions from audits which showed non-compliance were not always actioned.
The clinic manager did not monitor the effectiveness of the service. Patient outcomes to improve care and treatment were not monitored by the clinic manager.
We saw incorrect use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Staff did not always follow policies; some policies did not reflect national guidelines.
Rooms throughout the clinic had not been risk assessed to establish the maximum number of people that could occupy the room whilst maintain social distancing in line with government guidelines.
Staff did not challenge a contractor handling soiled linen incorrectly.
However:
On the day of the inspection the service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills and understood how to protect patients from abuse.
Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients at all stages throughout their treatment. Staff were focused on the needs of patients receiving care.
Staff provided safe care and treatment, offered them refreshments, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Patient feedback was used to monitor the effectiveness of the service. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, supported them to make decisions about their care. Services were available six days a week between 08:30am and 5:30pm Monday to Friday and between 09:00am and 5:30pm on Saturdays.
People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
The service used systems and processes to safely prescribe, administer, record and store medicines.