Background to this inspection
Updated
23 July 2021
The Wimpole Clinic is operated by The Wimpole Clinic Limited. The service registered in August 2018, providing hair transplant surgeries. It is a private clinic in London. The clinic accepts self-referrals from patients living in London and internationally. The service does not provide services to NHS-funded patients or patients under the age of 18.
At the time of this inspection, there were a registered manager and a nominated individual.
The clinic provides cosmetic surgery and is registered to provide the following regulated activities: Surgical Procedures, Treatment of disease, disorder or injury, Diagnostic and screening procedures.
Activity (December 2020 to May 2021):
- The clinic carried out 411 hair transplant procedures.
- There were 2278 outpatient appointments, which were a mix of pre-operative face-to-face appointments and post-operative reviews.
There were two full-time employed surgeons and three part time working surgeons working under practising privileges at the clinic. The service employed one clinic director, one clinic manager, four hair technicians, as well as employing additional independent hair technicians as needed. The accountable officer for controlled drugs (CDs) was the nominated individual.
The service was inspected in 2013, registered under a different address. The inspection found that the service met the required standards.
Updated
23 July 2021
This was the first time we rated this service.
We rated it as good because:
The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients and acted on them. They managed medicines well. Staff collected patient feedback and used it to improve the service.
Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough time to reflect and ask questions, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on their procedures and supported them to make decisions about their care. Key services were available six days a week.
Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients.
The service planned care to meet the needs of patients, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it.
Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients to manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.
However:
- There was a low response rate to formal patient feedback questionnaires given out by the clinic, although we saw more patients did leave feedback online.
- The service did not submit private patient episode data to the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) as per Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).