Canterbury Skin and Laser Clinic Limited

Updated 12 June 2019

Canterbury Skin and Laser Clinic Limited is the registered provider of services carried out at the location Canterbury Skin and Clinic Limited.

We inspected Canterbury Skin and Laser Clinic on 7 May 2019.

26 Castle Street

Canterbury

Kent

CT1 2PX

The building is listed, restricting changes that may be made to the building and preventing the installation of a ramp for disability access. There is a consulting room downstairs for clients who have limited mobility and may be unable to manage the stairs. Clients who could not access the building were seen by special arrangements at a local independent hospital where the provider hires a room for that purpose.

The Canterbury Skin and Laser Clinic is led by two Consultant Dermatologists, an Aesthetic doctor/NCCG in Dermatology and a Consultant Angiologist. Staff comprise of an Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner, three part time secretaries/receptionists and three part time aestheticians/beauty therapists.

The clinic is open from 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Saturday with some evening work on a Wednesday and Thursday when the clinic is open until 7pm.

The inspection team was led by a CQC inspector and included a GP specialist advisor.

Prior to the inspection we gathered and reviewed information from the provider. There was no information of concern received from stakeholders. During our visit we:

• Spoke with the registered manager/nominated individual who was also the consultant dermatologist based at the clinic. We also spoke with the two receptionists.
• Reviewed 46 CQC comment cards where clients shared their views and experiences of the service.
• Looked at documents the clinic used to carry out services, including policies and procedures.
• Reviewed clinical records of clients to track their progress through the 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.

This provider refers to people who use the service as clients and we have used this terminology

Updated 12 June 2019

This service is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection November 2017 – no rating given)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Canterbury Skin and Laser Clinic Limited on 7 May 2019. 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.

Canterbury Skin and Laser Clinic provides general dermatology consultations and treatments. These include cosmetic treatments for day-clients using a range of non-invasive or minimally invasive procedures including laser and non-laser technology and treatment techniques. They also offer eXroid, an electrotherapy treatment for haemorrhoids.

Canterbury Skin and Laser Clinic do not treat clients under the age of 18 without the appropriate supervision of a family member and/or a trained paediatric nurse. It is a general rule that all clients under the age of 18 will be referred for treatment to one of the private hospital clinics or NHS hospital where at all possible.

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 service and these are set out in Schedule 2 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

The consultant dermatologist based at the location 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.

As part of our inspection we asked for CQC comment cards to be completed by clients prior to our inspection. We received 46 comment cards which were all very positive about the service that had been provided.

’ Our key findings were:

• The provider had systems, processes and practices to keep people safe. However, they did not have an effective system for the management of infection prevention and control.
• Systems to support safety within the building were effective and well embedded.
• The provider put the clients’ needs before financial consideration.
• There was a strong emphasis on continuous learning for clinical staff.
• There was abundant information for patients on how to approach their treatment. This included providing in-house leaflets, as well as standard leaflets, and links to the latest dermatological research. Clients were enabled to be as knowledgeable about their choices as possible.
• There was a very wide range of lasers available allowing clients to be treated at the clinic rather than referring to secondary care.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Ensure that the actions identified in infection control audits are addressed in a timely manner.
• Ensure all staff at every level are provided with the development they need, including high-quality appraisal and career development conversations.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGPChief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care