Elite Aesthetics

This service is rated as Good overall. (Previous inspection February 2020 – Good)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Elite Aesthetics as part of our inspection programme.

Elite Aesthetics is a doctor led aesthetic clinic with a strong interest in treating issues related to women’s health. It also provides slimming services. It is on a ground floor premises in Greenhithe, Kent. It treats private patients. There is a car park on site. The staff comprise of a doctor, four aesthetic practitioners, a patient co-ordinator and support staff.

This provider 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 regulated activities and services and these are set out in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Elite Aesthetics provides a range of non-surgical cosmetic interventions which are not within CQC scope of registration. Therefore, we did not inspect or report on these services.

The registered provider 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.

As part of our inspection we also asked for CQC comment cards to be completed by patients prior to the inspection. We received ten comment cards all of which were positive about the standard of care received. The comments explained how professional, caring and efficient staff were. The comments also included statements praising the cleanliness of the practice.

Our key findings were:

• There was a strong emphasis on putting the patient’s best interests first.
• The provider’s systems, practices and processes helped to keep patients safe.
• Patients were routinely asked to provide feedback on the service they had received.
• There was a consistent approach to clinical record keeping.
• The provider dealt with staff with kindness and respect. They encouraged team building and understood the importance of gaining feedback from staff. New ideas were implemented as a result of staff feedback.

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

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