• Clinic
  • Slimming clinic

Archived: National Slimming Centres (Gillingham)

1st Floor, 33 High Street, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 1BQ (01634) 855224

Provided and run by:
Codegrange Limited

Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile

All Inspections

23 October 2018

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out an announced follow up inspection on 23 October 2018 to ask the service the following key questions; Are services safe? Are services effective?

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found that this service was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this service was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

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.

CQC inspected the service on 16 March 2018 and asked the provider to make improvements regarding how they provided safe care and treatment. We checked these areas as part of this follow up inspection and found they had been resolved.

This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of the provision of advice or treatment by, or under the supervision of, a medical practitioner, including the prescribing of medicines for the purposes of weight reduction. At National Slimming Centres (Gillingham) the aesthetic cosmetic treatments that are also provided are exempt by law from CQC regulation. Therefore, we were only able to inspect the treatment for weight reduction but not the aesthetic cosmetic services.

The clinic 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.

Our key findings were:

  • Information used for employment, including identification checks were in place.
  • Medicines held to treat emergencies had been replaced and were seen to be suitable for use.
  • Patients were prescribed medicines in accordance with the provider’s guidelines and received appropriate treatment breaks.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

  • Only supply unlicensed medicines against valid special clinical needs of an individual patient where there is no suitable licensed medicine available.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGPChief Inspector of General Practice

16 March 2018

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 16 March 2018 to ask the service the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found that this service was not providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this service was not providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found that this service was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found that this service was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that this service was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

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.

Before the inspection, we looked at a range of information that we hold about the clinic. This included the most recent inspection report from January 2014 and any additional information received about the service. We also looked at information submitted by the service in response to our provider information request.

This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of the provision of advice or treatment by, or under the supervision of, a medical practitioner, including the prescribing of medicines for the purposes of weight reduction. At National Slimming Centres (Gillingham) the aesthetic cosmetic treatments that are also provided are exempt by law from CQC regulation. Therefore we were only able to inspect the treatment for weight reduction but not the aesthetic cosmetic services.

National Slimming Centres (Gillingham) is an independent provider of weight management services, including prescribed medicines, dietary and lifestyle advice.

The clinic 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.

We looked at comment cards completed by patients who use the clinic. A total of 26 people provided feedback about the service. Feedback about the service provided was always positive.

Our key findings were:

  • The clinic was clean and tidy.
  • Staff were supported in their work, had the opportunity to undertake training and were happy to raise any concerns with their manager.
  • Staff had a good rapport with patients and treated them in a caring manner.
  • Patient feedback about their experience of the service was always positive.

We identified regulations that were not being met and the provider must:

  • Ensure that care and treatment is provided in a safe and effective way for the service users.

You can see full details of the regulations not being met at the end of this report.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

  • Only supply unlicensed medicines against valid special clinical needs of an individual patient where there is no suitable licensed medicine available.

Review information used for employment, including identification checks.

25 October 2013

During a routine inspection

We visited the service, spoke with staff, looked at records and the information available to people. We contacted five people who used the service by telephone to gather their views on the service.

People were provided with information which ensured they understood the treatment choices available to them and enabled them to make informed decisions about their treatment.

People were assessed by a doctor to ensure that they were suitable to receive treatment.

The service completed audits to monitor the quality of the service provided and took action to make improvements.

We saw that there was a complaints process available for people if they wanted to make a complaint and people were able to make comments about the service.

We saw that people's records contained details of each appointment that they had at the service and were accurate and up to date.

18 February 2013

During a routine inspection

During the inspection we spoke with five people who used the service to get their views about the quality of the service that they received. People told us they were given information, for example on diet and nutrition, lifestyle and exercises. They told us they also discussed the various options to lose weight so they had all the necessary information to make informed decisions about their choice of treatment.

People spoken with said they received a leaflet with information about the medicines that they were prescribed so they understood the licensing and use of the medicines as well as the side effects and what to do if side effects did occur. They told us they felt they had been given sufficient information make informed consent to the treatment.

People spoken with told us the service had been very supportive, one person said "The staff really want to help you with losing weight, and we can come to the clinic even when we are on a medication breaks." They told us they were asked about their needs and medical history when they first visited the clinic, so the doctor had all the necessary information to decide if it was safe to prescribe slimming medicines.

People told us their weight was monitored regularly and they were reviewed by the doctor before more medicines were prescribed to make sure it was safe for them to continue losing weight.

We found that staff at the clinic had been appropriately recruited and had been supported with ongoing training.