We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 14 February 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.

Kiwi Skin Limited provides aesthetic medical and cosmetic services at ASKINOLOGY in the City of London and treats adults over 18.

This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of the provision of advice or treatment by a medical practitioner, including the prescribing of medicines for aesthetic purposes. At ASKINOLOGY the cosmetic treatments that are also provided by aesthetic therapists are exempt from CQC regulation.

We received feedback from 19 people about the service, including comment cards, all of which were very positive about the service and indicated that patients were treated with kindness and respect. Staff were described as helpful, caring, thorough and professional.

Our key findings were:

• There were arrangements in place to keep patients safe and safeguarded from abuse.
• Most health and safety and premises risks were assessed and well-managed.
• There were safe systems for the management of medicines and infection control.
• There was an effective system for recording and acting on adverse events and incidents
• There was no formal written process for acting on safety and medicines alerts, however where safety alerts were relevant they were reviewed by the whole team.
• Assessments and treatments were carried out in line with relevant and current evidence based guidance and standards.
• There was some evidence of quality improvement.
• The provider did not have thorough records to demonstrate that staff had appropriate training to cover the scope of their work, although staff were trained appropriately.
• There was evidence of a comprehensive induction programme and structured meetings and appraisals for staff.
• Staff treated clients with kindness, respect, dignity and professionalism.
• Opening hours reflected the needs of the population and clients were able to book appointments when they needed them.
• The service had a clear procedure for managing complaints. They took complaints and concerns seriously and responded to them appropriately to improve the quality of care.
• Leaders had the skills and capacity to deliver the service and provide high quality care.
• Staff stated they felt respected, supported and valued. They were proud to work in the service.
• The provider was aware of and had systems to ensure compliance with the requirements of the duty of candour.
• The service encouraged feedback from clients. Staff encouraged clients to leave an online review and these were used to monitor performance.
• The service had won two aesthetic awards in 2016 for ‘best new practice’ and ‘best new clinic’.

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

• Review the system for dealing with and acting on medicines and safety alerts.
• Review the systems for monitoring and recording training for staff, including safeguarding, fire safety, infection control, data protection and responding to medical emergencies.
• Review procedures and policies for managing an unwell client, communicating with clients’ GPs and carrying out identification checks for clients to confirm age.