The Whiteley Clinic London is operated by The Whiteley Clinic Ltd which is an organisation consisting of clinics in three locations across England. The Whiteley Clinic London was governed by and follows protocols of The Whiteley Clinic Ltd. The London clinic has no inpatient beds. Facilities include consultation rooms, treatment rooms, one operating theatre for endovenous or other surgery, and a second with radiological shielding approved for fluoroscopy, and scan room used for diagnostic screening.

We carried out a comprehensive inspection of The Whiteley Clinic London on 21st March 2017 as part of our national programme to inspect and rate all independent hospitals.

We inspected the following core service:

• outpatients and diagnostic imaging services (including surgery)

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask the same five questions of all services: are they safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs, and well-led? Where we have a legal duty to do so we rate services’ performance against each key question as outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.

Throughout the inspection, we took account of what people told us and how the provider understood and complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

We rated this hospital as good overall.

Our key findings were as follows:

• Staff were aware of how to report incidents. Incidents and complaints were reviewed at the monthly clinical governance meeting. Processes were in place for investigating, reviewing and sharing learning from incidents.
• Standards of cleanliness and hygiene were high throughout the clinic. Equipment within the clinic was maintained and serviced appropriately, and medicines were stored securely.
• Staff were competent within their roles. Most staff within the clinic were up to date with their mandatory training. The clinic undertook timely inductions and appraisals, and staff had the appropriate skills to carry out their duties.
• All procedures and treatment at the clinic were based on research that had been ongoing since the opening of the Whiteley Clinic Ltd in 1999. NICE guidelines for the management of varicose veins (CG168) published in 2013 mirrored the policies and procedures already undertaken at the clinic.
• The clinic undertook regular patient audits. Research undertaken by the Whiteley Clinic Ltd demonstrated a high success rate in treating venous disease.
• All patient feedback that we received was positive. Patients said that they felt fully involved in their treatment. Staff regularly checked patients in relation to their comfort level.
• The service was flexible in responding to patient needs. Appointments were usually offered within three weeks. Alternative arrangements were made on the rare occasion that clinics were cancelled.
• The clinic and staff working there had a vision and drive to deliver evidence based and effective treatment for the management of varicose veins. The clinic demonstrated an ability to apply cutting edge research to clinical care and treatment, to deliver the best patient outcomes.
• The clinic used the Whiteley Protocol, a research based protocol used in the treatment of venous disease. All staff were trained in the Whiteley Protocol to ensure a consistent high standard of care.
• The senior management team were visible and approachable. There were high levels of engagement with staff through ‘state of the nation’ talks and annual academic days.

Following this inspection, we told the provider that it should make some improvements, even though a regulation had not been breached, to help the service improve.

The hospital should:

Ensure all staff comply with the procedures and guidelines when disposing of sharps to reduce the risk of needlestick injuries.

Create a list of authorised staff and schedule a review for each patient group direction used at the clinic as recommended by NICE guidelines on patient group directions (MPG2)..

Ensure all response times to complaints are recorded so that the clinic can be assured that they are responding within the appropriate time frame.

Professor Sir Mike Richards

Chief Inspector of Hospitals