During an assessment of Surgery
Date of assessment: 21 August to 9th September 2025.
This comprehensive assessment formed part of our scheduled inspection programme. We assessed 33 quality statements for the 5 key questions: safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led.
The location had not been inspected since its registration at this location in 2024, and following this assessment, we rated it as Requires Improvement. The provider was previously inspected under their previous name and address in 2023.
BYC Surgery Limited is an Independent Health provider of aesthetic and cosmetic surgery related clinical activities. This service operates from a privately rented space within the premises of St Clare Medical Centre in Penzance, Cornwall, but patients may come from anywhere in the country. The services provided included blepharoplasty, removal of moles, cysts and pre and post-surgery consultations about a variety of plastic surgery procedures, such as abdominoplasty, liposuction and mastopexy. All surgical procedures performed at this location were done under local anaesthetic or under conscious sedation.
During our assessment of the provider, we found some aspects of the service were not always safe. We found some policies contained information not relevant to the service. We found some policies were not always accurate or up to date and did not always reflect the current service configuration. The service did not always provide staff with clear guidance for recognising and escalating deteriorating patients and we found gaps in their procedure for reporting serious incidents. Safeguarding arrangements were not always clear. We found the provider needed to strengthen their processes for reporting patient safety incidents, in line with current CQC guidance.
The service did not always involve people effectively in managing clinical risks. The service did not always inform patients of the risks of anaesthetics with sufficient time before admission to surgery. This did not allow them to reflect and make an informed decision about the risks and the alternatives to the anaesthetics proposed for their cosmetic procedures.
The service did not always ensure emergency preparedness for treating complications of common cosmetic surgical procedures. We found the anaesthetist trolley did not contain key medication to treat patients for potential life-threatening complications.
We found the service did not have a freedom to speak up designated person within their staff. The service did not always demonstrate effective governance or compliance with national standards.
However, the service consistently treated patients with dignity, compassion, respect for their privacy and special circumstances. Staff also treated each other with courtesy and worked together to provide the best possible care.
Staff delivered care to patients with kindness, respecting their dignity, giving patients choice over the treatments they received. The service recently took steps to make it easier for patients to provide feedback. The service had good oversight of infection prevention and control measures to keep patients safe from infections. Patients received timely pain relief when needed.
We found 3 breaches of the regulations in relation to need for consent, safe care and treatment and good governance. Ordinarily an action plan is requested upon publication of the final report. However, BYC Surgery Limited is no longer operating and the service will be deregistered.