- Independent doctor
Howell Medical Group Ltd
Assessment report published 10 September 2025
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of Assessment: 29 July to 31 July 2025. The location address is 57 Rodney Street, Liverpool, L1 9ER and the provider has an office base in Liverpool docks.
We conducted this assessment because the practice had not been assessed since registration and due to the number of concerns raised about this service with us. We assessed all quality statements across the safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led key questions. We rated this service as requires improvement.
Howell Medical Group is registered with CQC as a private slimming clinic and independent doctor’s service, however, this inspection focused solely on the slimming clinic service as the location was not providing wider treatment. The service offers weight loss medicine to people who meet the NICE guidance. Their model is mainly a remote service, patients can choose to follow a self-directed or a nurse-led weight loss programme, however patients with certain conditions which could increase risk are only offered a nurse-led weight loss service with oversight from a consultant.
Patients could choose to have face to face appointments, between 9 am and 4 pm; online or virtual appointments between 8 am and 9.30 pm and customer services was open 10 am to 4 pm 7 days a week.
The service had seen a significant increase in demand for weight loss medicines as they had become well known through national and social media.
People's experience of this service
A number of patients had contacted CQC to complain about issues such as access to the customer services team, delayed or incorrect medicines and refunds.
The provider had seen over 50 formal complaints about their service in 2025, They had implemented various systems to improve customer experience following a review in early July 2025, we were not able to assess the effectiveness of these changes during this assessment.
The provider shared data from a non-validated opinion website which showed many 5-star ratings, however there had been a financial incentive for this so we were unable to rely upon this feedback.
The provider shared several testimonials with us; these mainly related to the differences people experienced from their weight loss as opposed to the service itself or the staff.