Sussex Aesthetics

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

We looked for evidence that the clinic involved patients and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

This is the first inspection for this clinic 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 always treated patients with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. This was reflected in the patient feedback we reviewed. Arrangements were in place to promote patients’ privacy.

The clinic treated patients as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. Staff described examples of when they took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Staff gave patients timely support and information. The clinical director we spoke with told us any patients who were nervous or anxious about the treatment were given extra time and their treatment was explained so they knew what to expect. They also commented due to the nature of their service they worked closely with patients to understand and manage their expectations and their experience.

The clinic promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

Staff recognised the importance of people’s dignity and respect. Staff displayed an understanding and non-judgmental attitude when talking to patients who were seeking to reduce weight, solve skin conditions and concerns regarding their appearance.

For regulated activities, there was a ‘cooling off’ period after the initial consultation for a procedure.

Patients could opt to stay on lower dose medication whilst losing weight to minimise side effects and once patients reached a healthier weight they were advised of their choices as to whether they remained on maintenance dose or reduced and stopped the medicine entirely. Staff told us they were clear with the discussions with patients that lifestyle habits were required to prevent them putting weight back on.

Staff listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. They responded to patients’ needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or anxiety.

Staff had completed additional training to understand mental health within aesthetic medicine.

The clinic was organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Feedback indicated staff were flexible to accommodate patient’s needs and they took time to observe, communicate and engage people in discussions about their immediate needs.

The clinical director (founder/owner) cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their small team and supported and enabled staff to deliver person-centred care.

The clinical director stated they valued the small team workforce and had worked to embed a positive culture which included opportunities for small team meetings and social events. Staff feedback we received indicated they shared the clinical director’s passion for making a difference to patients’ health and lives.