Archived: Hertility Health

Updated 6 February 2023

Hertility Health Limited provides an online fee-paying service which offers at home hormone testing. The service also provides an online health assessment to be taken by clients in advance of the blood testing kit being sent to the client’s home address. Once the at home blood test has been completed and sent back to the service’s laboratory, the client’s online assessment answers are reviewed by in-house clinical staff and in combination with the results of blood test, a personalised report relating to their reproductive health is sent to the client. Further consultations can be made with clinical staff at the service for an additional fee and at a time convenient to the client.

The registered manager of the service is a member of the provider’s the senior management team. Consultations are undertaken by a team of consultant gynaecologists, general practitioners, fertility nurses, nutritionists and counsellors who are all registered with their appropriate governing bodies. Other staff working at the service include (but not limited to) data scientists, research associates, operations manager, quality assurance and regulatory affairs manager and data engineers.

The administrative address of the service is:-

167-169 Great Portland Street

London

W1W 5PF

The service telephone lines are open between 9am and 5pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

How we inspected this service

Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, considering the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently.

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the service and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.

During our inspection we:-

• Looked at the systems in place relating to safety and governance of the service on the day and in advance of our site visit
• Viewed key policies and procedures
• Conducted interviews with staff in person and online
• Reviewed clinical records

To get to the heart of clients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?
• Is it effective?
• Is it caring?
• Is it responsive to people’s needs?
• Is it well-led?

These questions therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 6 February 2023

This service is rated as Good overall

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Hertility Health Limited on the 9 and 14 of November 2022 This inspection was conducted as part of our ongoing inspection programme of registered independent health providers.

Hertility Health Limited is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of the following regulated activities: diagnostic and screening procedures and treatment of disease, disorder or injury. Hertility Health Limited provides a fee-paying specialist service which focuses on the provision of services relating to reproductive healthcare through an at home hormone and fertility test. Additional clinical services available include consultations with gynaecologists, fertility nurses and fertility counsellors.

The registered manager of the service is a member of the provider’s the senior management team. 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.

Our key findings were:

• The provider had systems in place which kept clients safe. These systems included checks on staff working at the service, a programme of safety risk assessments on systems used by the service to deliver its product and that client information was stored appropriately.
• Clinicians at the service were aware of current evidence-based guidance and had the skills and knowledge to deliver effective care and treatment.
• The provider offered its service on a private, fee paying basis only and was accessible to female clients who chose to use it.
• The provider obtained consent to care and treatment in line with legislation and guidance.
• Staff felt valued and supported. Clinical and administrative staff worked closely together to provide quality services for clients.
• Provision of services considered client demand and included timely access appointments which included face-to-face, telephone and video consultations.
• Learning and improvement were key components of the service. Learning was used to improve and build on existing services.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services