The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • Independent doctor

Changes Clinic Limited

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Building 1000, Lakeside North Harbour,, Western Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO6 3EN (023) 9238 2000

Provided and run by:
Changes Clinic Limited

All Inspections

6 July 2023

During a monthly review of our data

We carried out a review of the data available to us about Changes Clinic Limited on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.

This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.

If you have concerns about Changes Clinic Limited, you can give feedback on this service.

1 February 2023

During a routine inspection

This service is rated as Good overall

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 inspection at Changes Clinic Limited as part of our inspection programme. It had been inspected previously in January 2018. At that time, we did not rate this type of service. This was the first inspection since ratings were introduced.

This service is registered with the Care Quality Commission (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. Changes Clinic Limited provides a range of non-surgical cosmetic interventions, for example dermal fillers and skin tightening, which are not within CQC scope of registration. Therefore, we did not inspect or report on these services. We inspected services within scope of registration: mole and lesion removal and sclerotherapy for varicose veins. Scleropathy is the surgical injection of a salt solution to treat spider veins.

The service’s managing director and owner is also 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.

Our key findings were:

  • There were clear systems to keep people safe and safeguarded from abuse. The provider had systems for assessing and monitoring patient risks. Staff understood responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses.
  • Regulated treatments met patients’ needs and were based on best practice guidelines. Patient feedback on the experience of care and outcome of treatment was monitored.
  • Staff were trained appropriately and staff training, development and appraisal was recorded.
  • Patient views were sought to inform and improve practice.
  • Services were offered to meet patients’ needs and treatments were offered at convenient times.
  • Staff worked together to create a culture of compassion and person-centred care. Leaders were visible and understood the needs and risks of the business.

The area where the provider should make improvements is:

  • To continue to ensure that staff complete their required training.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services

11 January 2018

During a routine inspection

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 11 January 2018 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 providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this service was 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 providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

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.

Changes Clinic Limited is an aesthetic health and wellbeing clinic offering surgical and non-surgical treatments for face, hair and body for individuals over the age of 18.

Changes Clinic Limited is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of the provision of advice or treatment by, or under the supervision of, a medical practitioner, including the prescribing of medicines for the purposes of surgical procedures such as skin lesion removal and ear correction surgery. At Changes Clinic the aesthetic cosmetic treatments that are also provided are exempt by law from CQC regulation. These included non-invasive fat reduction, Botox injections and semi-permanent makeup. Therefore we were only able to inspect the treatment for ear correction surgery and skin lesion removal but not the aesthetic cosmetic services.

Some services advertised by Changes Clinic Limited were undertaken by specialists who were not directly employed by Changes Clinic Limited. There was an agreement that these services would fall under the banner of Changes Clinic but would be provided by individuals who were renting out treatment space. For example the semi-permanent make up. The hair transplant services were undertaken by another organisation that had their own CQC registration. As such these areas were not included as part of this inspection.

The nominated individual of the clinic is also 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.

Client feedback was obtained through completed comment cards and speaking with clients during the inspection. Eleven people provided feedback about the service. All feedback was positive with comments about the professional yet friendly manner of staff and feeling fully involved in discussions about their care and treatment.

Our key findings were:

  • The practice had systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
  • The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.
  • Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
  • Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
  • Not all staff had a record of having completed the training required by the clinic. However, the manager had plans in place for staff to attend training over the next few weeks and due to a small team prioritised by role and need.
  • Policies and procedures were in place but not all of these had clear dates for review. Some policies were not formally documented such as the business continuity plan.

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

  • Review the existing arrangements for processes to follow in the event of an emergency which could affect business continuity.

  • Review current methods for capturing and reviewing staff training to ensure all staff have completed relevant training required for their role. For example, infection control and information governance. Review the need to train all staff in safeguarding children.

  • Review procedure for regular review of policies and procedures including for significant events and near misses.
  • Review the need to have a risk assessment in place for staff without a DBS criminal records check.
  • Consider a system to check clients identity when attending for treatments and consultations.