Dr Skin Surgery Ltd

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

We looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture.

This is the first inspection for this registered provider since its registration with CQC. This key question has been rated as Good.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The clinic had a clear vision, strategy and culture. The vision of the clinic was proudly displayed throughout the website, in patient literature and on social media channels. The vision was: ‘Expert eyes on every concern’ and ‘Your peace of mind is our priority’.

Evidence and feedback we reviewed during this inspection confirmed the vision was embedded into everyday practice. For example, the clinician was highly skilled and experienced in dermatology and all excised tissue was sent for further testing and analysis.

The culture of the clinic had been developed from the vision and values of the clinician, their passion for dermatology and the relationships they had built with patients.

They clinician who founded, owned and provided all treatments at the clinic told us they were proud of the achievements made and the direction the clinic was going.

The owner and founder, who was the clinician at Dr Skin Surgery Ltd led a small team. They contracted staff to carry out regulated activities without employing them. Staff told us the clinician modelled the values of the clinic throughout all of their work.

Through conversations, evidence collected during the inspection and a review of correspondence, it was evident the leadership of the clinic had the capacity and skills to deliver high-quality, sustainable outcomes. They were knowledgeable about issues and priorities relating to the quality and future of services. They understood national and local changes and challenges, including changes within dermatology, primary care services and the wider NHS.

There were processes in place to ensure the clinician remained appropriately qualified and knowledgeable to deliver treatment. This included membership of different dermatology bodies and societies, for ongoing training, development and peer support.
As a practicing GP and an associate specialist in dermatology, they were also registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) and were up to date with revalidation. This meant they met regulatory standards and were subject to revalidation of their registration to ensure the delivery of safe and effective care and treatment to patients.

The Freedom to speak up arrangements were appropriate to the range of services provided and the small team delivering these services. Whilst the size and scope of the clinic, did not merit specific freedom to speak up processes, we saw there were processes to raise concerns externally if ever required. For example, there were processes in place to report suspected problems using the Yellow Card system. The Yellow Card system is used for recording adverse incidents with medicines and medical devices in the UK.

Dr Skin Surgery Ltd is a GP led service, the clinician was responsible for all administration and management duties and delivering all clinical services. Whilst there were no other staff employed at the clinic, (they contracted 2 members of staff to support regulated activities without employing them) the clinician told us how the service promoted equality and diversity.

The clinic had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. The governance arrangements were appropriate to the range of size, scope and services provided and the small team delivering these services. Structures, processes and systems to support good governance and management were clearly set out, understood and effective. The clinician acknowledged, if the clinic was to grow or expand, the governance arrangements would also grow to mirror changes within the clinic and team delivering regulated activities.

Although a small team, meetings were held every 8 weeks, and learning and actions from meetings documented and recorded.

Regulated activities were provided by 1 clinician; they were conscious their work and reviews needed objectivity. As a result, they told us and we saw how they accessed regular peer support from colleagues within the sector.

There was a dedicated section on the clinic website which included sections specific to in-house governance policies alongside data protection, data security and data retention guidelines.

Dr Skin Surgery Ltd is an independent private self-funding clinic. Whilst this quality statement is not fully applicable for this clinic, staff understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. We saw they were engaged with the 3 host sites, the dermatology sector, peers and partners to share learning. They used these networks to identify new or innovative ideas that can lead to better outcomes for people. This was collaborated by feedback we received from a host site.

The clinician had a strong focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the clinic, the sector and the local health system.

The clinician highlighted the current GP training programme has limited scope regarding dermatology and they were conscious dermatology and skin lesion concerns presented to primary care was an area often creating inappropriate referrals to secondary care dermatology.

As a result, they had developed and grown close links and worked with the local General Practice Vocational Training Scheme (a structured 3-year program for doctors training to become general practitioners in the UK) to support doctor training in dermatology.

The clinician used case studies from Dr Skin Surgery Ltd to support these sessions. Given the successes and positive feedback from these teaching sessions, we saw further sessions had been arranged at local GP practices. We saw a variety of feedback following these learning sessions which was highly positive and highlighted how useful and supportive the doctors found the sessions.

Previously, the clinician had actively contributed to safe, effective practice and research, using case studies from Dr Skin Surgery Ltd as examples (with patient consent). They were keen to restart this research as the sector continues to grow and evolve.