Archived: Illuminate Skin Clinic

We carried out an announced focused inspection via a desk-based review on 5 October 2020 of Illuminate Skin Clinic. We obtained the information within this report without visiting the provider.

We followed up on concerns identified during the inspection conducted on 3 October 2019. Following this inspection, Illuminate Skin Clinic was rated as good overall, and requires improvement in well-led. We found;

• The provider did not have a system for receiving and acting on safety alerts
• Not all risks had been effectively managed
• The service did not have reliable systems for the appropriate and safe management of medicines
• Clinical audits were not routinely conducted to inform and improve the service
• Staff had not undertaken appropriate training to perform their roles.

The report also recommended the service revised their statement of purpose to capture all areas of service activity undertaken.

Illuminate Skin Clinic is an independent healthcare provider based in West Malling in Kent. The service provides an aesthetic cosmetic service as well as private treatments for skin and other conditions.

This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, the services it provides. There are some exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of regulated activities and services and these are set out in and of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Illuminate Skin Clinic provides a range of non-surgical cosmetic interventions, for example aesthetic treatments which are not within CQC scope of registration. Therefore, we did not inspect or report on these services.

The practice is registered with CQC to provide the following regulated activities: Diagnostic and screening procedures; Treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

The sales and marketing 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.

During our inspection on 5 October 2020 we found that the practice had made improvements.

Our key findings were:

• The practice had a system to receive and act on safety alerts.
• There were clear and effective processes for managing risks, issues and performance.
• There were appropriate and safe systems in place to manage medicines.
• The practice had implemented a clinical audit programme.
• Staff had received or had scheduled appropriate training to perform their roles.
• The practice had revised and submitted their statement of purpose.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care