The Thyroid Clinic

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

We looked for evidence that staff involved people in decisions about their care and treatment and provided them with advice and support. Staff regularly reviewed people’s care and worked with other services to achieve this.

This is the first inspection for this service 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 service made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

Feedback from people using the service was positive. People felt involved in assessments of their needs and felt confident that staff understood their individual and cultural needs. Administrative staff used digital flags in the care records system to highlight any specific individual needs, such as the requirement for longer appointments or for a translator to be present. Staff checked people’s health, care, and wellbeing needs during each consultation. Clinical staff used templates when conducting follow-up consultations to support the review of people’s wider health and wellbeing.

Comprehensive medical information, including home blood test results, were obtained prior to and during consultations. For those accessing weight loss treatments, this included visual evidence of weight and a body mass index (BMI) calculation.

We saw evidence of people who did not meet the criteria for treatment being signposted to other services, including their GP.

The service planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards.

There were systems to ensure staff were up to date with evidence-based guidance and legislation.

There were no UK guidelines in relation to thyroid replacement hormones. The service used Canadian guidelines and were formulating their own guidelines based on audits and evaluations of the care and treatment they provided.

Clinical records we reviewed demonstrated care relating to the treatment of weight loss and menopause, was provided in line with relevant current legislation, standards and guidance, including National Institute for Clinical Guidance (NICE) guidelines.

The service worked well across their team and services to support people. They made sure people only needed to tell their story once by sharing their assessment of needs when people moved between different services.

Staff had access to the information they needed to appropriately assess, plan, and deliver people’s care, treatment, and support. The service worked with other services to ensure continuity of care, including where clinical tasks were delegated to other services. For example, when being referred to other independent healthcare services or when a GP referral was required for secondary care services.

The service supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. The service supported people to live healthier lives.

People received diet and lifestyle coaching, as well as information and guidance to enable them to improve their lifestyle and support their weight loss, menopause or thyroid treatment journey.

The service routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

They had a comprehensive plan of routine monthly audits. Leaders and staff told us that audits were discussed at clinical meetings. We reviewed meeting minutes which showed findings from audits were shared and learning outcomes including any changes to clinical practice or procedures were cascaded to staff.

Staff engaged with the 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.

The service told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.

People who expressed an interest in treatment were given sufficient information about the treatment options available to reach a decision on whether to proceed.
The service monitored the consent process appropriately. Staff understood the requirements of legislation and guidance when considering consent and decision making.

People were encouraged to consent to share details of their consultation and any medicines prescribed with their registered GP when they accessed services, except for weight loss injections, where information was shared with the persons GP routinely.