We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 12 December 2017 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.

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.

Background

clinicbe is a medical practice situated in Knightsbridge, close to Cadogan Square and easily accessible from Belgravia, Mayfair and Chelsea. The practice premises are located in a building in a residential street. The practice premises are located on the street and lower ground levels. The lower ground level is accessible via stairs only. The practice offers medical services for chronic skin conditions and hair loss to adults and children from the age of 13. The practice is open between 10am and 6.30pm on Mondays to Fridays. The practice has an all-female staff team of a clinical practitioner, two technicians and two administrators.

This service 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. clinicbe provides doctor-led private consultations, physical examinations, and prescribes medicines for the management of chronic diseases such as gastro-intestinal problems, acne, rosacea, and hair loss. At clinicbe, the aesthetic cosmetic treatments that are also provided are exempt by law from CQC regulation. Therefore we were only able to inspect the treatment for chronic diseases but not the aesthetic cosmetic services, which included anti-ageing cosmetic treatments, skin fillers, chemical peels and skin rejuvenation.

The nominated individual 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.

We received 36 completed comments cards during our inspection. The feedback was entirely positive about the practice, its staff and the care and treatment received. We did not speak with patients during this inspection, as there were no patient consultations booked during the time of our inspection.

Our key findings were:

• The practice had clear 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.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

There was an area where the provider could make improvements and should:

Consider making arrangements to seek the views of existing patients in the practice, not just new patients.