ScreenCancer UK Head Office

Updated 13 September 2019

ScreenCancer UK Limited is the registered provider of services where reviews of skin screening are carried out at the location ScreenCancer Uk Head Office. They are registered to provide the regulated activity of treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

We inspected ScreenCancer UK Head Office, Innovation Centre Medway, Maidstone Road, Chatham, Kent, ME5 9FD. Website:

We did not inspect any of the Boots sites as part of this inspection, as they are registered under their own individual CQC registration for the regulated activity of diagnostic and screening.

ScreenCancer UK Head Office employs an operational manager, three specialist office based staff (all of whom have experience of working within dermatology in a hospital setting. For example, nurse and health care assistants) and a consultant dermatologist.

ScreenCancer UK Head Office provide skin screening services undertaken by a pharmacist in a number of Boots the Chemist stores across the UK (including Northern Ireland), for new diagnosis or treating patients with an existing skin condition, the service can provide alternative dermatology care. The Skin Scanning Service at Boots is a private pay option for patients looking for dermatology care outside of the NHS (exclusions and charges apply). Skin scanning images are sent from Boots to ScreenCancer UK via a secure online software system, held centrally at the ScreenCancer UK Head Office. The images are reviewed by a specialist and if required, are referred to the consultant dermatologist, who reviews the images and writes a report. Reports are then sent to the client, via a text message which includes an access code to enable patients to access their report online. No reports are sent directly to the patient’s own GP. Patients, when signing consent forms and before skin screening is carried out, are informed that the sharing of the report with their own GP is their responsibility. Patients can contact the head office for after care advice and guidance once they have received the report; which ranges from advice on changing skin care regimes and use of over the counter treatments to clarification of recommended treatments specified by the consultant dermatologist (which can include a private prescription or long-term treatment which their own GP would be responsible for).

The head office is open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and an out of hour contact telephone is available from 8am to 9am and 5pm to 9pm on weekdays and 8am to 9pm at the weekend.

How we inspected this service

Prior to the inspection we gathered and reviewed information from the provider. There was no information of concern received from stakeholders. During our visit we:

• Spoke with the registered manager/nominated individual, a specialist and the consultant dermatologist.
• Reviewed five online reviews where patients shared their views and experiences of the service.
• Looked at documents the service used to carry out services, including policies and procedures.
• Reviewed clinical records of patients to track their progress through the service.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?
• Is it effective?
• Is it caring?
• Is it responsive to people’s needs?
• Is it well-led?

These questions therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 13 September 2019

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at ScreenCancer UK Head Office on 17 July 2019. The inspection was the services first inspection since registering with CQC in October 2018. 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 was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

ScreenCancer UK Head Office provide skin screening services undertaken by a pharmacist in a number of Boots the Chemist stores across the UK. Skin scanning images are sent to ScreenCancer UK Head Office, where they are reviewed by specialists/dermatologists for a diagnosis, specialist advice and if required, treatment recommendations. Patients under the age of 18 are not provided with screening without the appropriate supervision of a parent and/or legal guardian.

This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. There are some exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of service and these are set out in Schedule 2 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. ScreenCancer UK Head Office provides a range of non-surgical screening. For example, mole screening which is not within the registration of this service, instead they are registered with the contracted organisation and are regulated under their own individual registration. Therefore, we did not inspect or report on these services. The operational manager is 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.

We were unable to speak to any patients during the inspection. We reviewed online reviews, from which we saw that there were five responses in the last 12 months, all of which were positive.

Our key findings were:

• The provider had systems, processes and practices to keep people safe.
• Systems to support safety within the head office and outsourced buildings (Boots the Chemist) were effective and well embedded.
• The provider put the Patients’ needs before financial consideration.
• There was a strong emphasis on continuous learning for clinical staff.
• There was information for patients on how to approach their treatment. This included providing links to the latest dermatological research.
• Patients were enabled to be as knowledgeable about their choices as possible.

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