Claire Kettle

Updated 19 October 2022

We carried out an inspection of Claire Kettle using our comprehensive methodology on 15 September 2022. This was followed by telephone interviews with parents of babies treated by the tongue-tie practitioner. In this report, we use the term ‘parent’ to describe either the birth parent or primary carer of the baby.

Some babies are born with the condition tongue-tie, which has the medical name ankyloglossia. This is where the fold of skin under the tongue that connects the tongue to the bottom of the mouth is shorter than usual, which restricts the movement of the tongue. This can cause problems with breastfeeding or bottle-fed babies and the baby may not gain weight at the normal rate. Some babies require a surgical intervention in order to release the tongue, which is known as a frenulotomy or frenotomy.

Frenulotomy services may be offered by the NHS or independent healthcare professionals such as doctors, dentists or midwives. The provider is a registered midwife who offers private tongue-tie services to the community in London.

The provider is qualified to provide frenulotomy divisions for babies up to the age of 6 months, however the provider only treated babies up to and including 4 months of age.

Babies above 4 months or with complex anatomy that aren’t safe to treat in the home setting are referred to ear, nose and throat services. The registered manager is a sole trader who provides the regulated activity.

The service is registered with the CQC to provide the following regulated activity:

• Surgical procedures

Updated 19 October 2022

This is the first time we rated this location. We rated it as good because:

• The practitioner was trained in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. The service assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. Evidence-based assessment tools were used to assess the mobility of the baby’s tongue.
• The practitioner monitored the effectiveness of the service. They advised primary care giver on how to lead healthier lives, and supported them to make decisions about their care. Full feeding assessments were carried out in line with best practice. Primary care givers were given support and encouragement to feed their baby well. The service was available seven days a week.
• The practitioner treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity and took account of their individual needs. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
• The service used reliable information systems and focused on the needs of patients receiving care. The service adapted policies from the Association of Tongue Tie Professionals (ATP) and personalised them for their own practice. The service undertook audits to evaluate the quality of care they provided. The registered manager was competent in their role and could draw on their work as a registered midwife for additional skills and knowledge.
• The practitioner was clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the practitioner was committed to improving services continually.

However:

• The service did not have information leaflets in languages other than English to reflect the languages spoken by families living in the local community at the time of inspection but was looking into how to provide this.

Updated 19 October 2022

Frenulotomy services may be offered by the NHS or independent healthcare professionals such as doctors, dentists or midwives. The provider is a registered midwife who offers private tongue-tie services to the community in London.

The provider is qualified to provide frenulotomy divisions for babies up to the age of 6 months, however the provider only treated babies up to and including 4 months of age.

We have not previously inspected the service. We rated it as good. See the overall summary for details.