The Care Quality Commission
  • Clinic
  • Slimming clinic

Archived: The Slimming Clinic

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

69 Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, Cleveland, TS1 5BX (01642) 246313

Provided and run by:
Slim Holdings Limited

Important: This service was previously registered at a different address - see old profile

All Inspections

17/12/2019

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Slimming Clinic, Middlesbrough to rate the service as part of our inspection programme.

The Slimming Clinic, Middlesbrough is a private clinic which provides medical treatment for weight loss, and part of a national slimming clinic provider.

The service does not currently have a Registered manager and was being overseen by the manager of another local service. A newly employed manager was in the process of applying to become 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.

17 patients provided feedback about the service. All the feedback was positive. Patients told us that staff were very helpful and kind. Patients felt encouraged and supported.

Our key findings were :

  • Patients felt supported and staff were helpful.
  • The systems for monitoring medicine fridge temperatures did not provide assurance that medicines stored in the fridge were safe to use.
  • There provider had good oversight and governance in place.
  • The clinic was in a good state of repair, clean and tidy.

The areas where the provider must make improvements as they are in breach of regulation is:

  • Ensure care and treatment is provided in a safe way to patients.

(Please see the specific details on action required at the end of this report.)

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

  • Only supply unlicensed medicines against valid special clinical needs of an individual patient where there is no suitable licensed medicine available.
  • Consider and risk assess the need for access to interpretation services for patients where English is not their first language.

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

20 April 2018

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 20 September 2017 where breaches of legal requirement were found. After the inspection, the service wrote to us to say what they would do to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches of regulation 12 and 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulation 2014.

We undertook this announced focussed inspection on 20 April 2018 to check that they had followed this plan and to confirm that the legal requirements had been met. This report only covers our findings in relation to those breaches in regulation. The last comprehensive inspection report can be read by selecting ‘all reports’ link for National Slimming and Cosmetic Clinics Middlesbrough on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Our findings were:

  • We saw that improvements had been made in medical record keeping and prescribing practices
  • A system was in place to ensure the effective monitoring and quality improvement of service being provided at the clinic.
  • The provider had taken a decision not to offer chaperoning at the clinic.
  • All staff had completed safeguarding training.
  • A system was in place to ensure recruitment checks were completed prior to employment.
  • A system was in place to contact patient’s registered GP to share information about their treatment at the clinic.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

  • Review the doctors manual in line with national guidance.

To Be Confirmed

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 20 September 2017 to ask the service the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found that this service was not providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations

Are services effective?

We found that this service was not providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations

Are services caring?

We found that this service was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations

Are services responsive?

We found that this service was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations

Are services well-led?

We found that this service was not providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations

Background

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 National Slimming and Cosmetic Clinic Middlesbrough was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Our key findings were:

We identified regulations that were not being met and the provider must:

  • Ensure that care and treatment is provided in a safe way for the service users.
  • Ensure that systems and processes are in place to effectively monitor and improve the quality of services being provided.
  • Ensure that chaperoning arrangements are in place to protect service users.
  • Ensure that recritument checks are completed prior to employment.

You can see full details of the regulations not being met at the end of this report.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

  • Review effectiveness of safeguarding training.
  • Review the system for dissemination of information from head office.
  • Review the systems and process for contacting GPs.
  • Review signposting information for patients with mobility concerns.
  • Only supply unlicensed medicines against valid special clinical needs of an individual patient where there is no suitable licensed medicine available