The Dove Clinic for Integrated Medicine

Updated 29 April 2019

The Dove Clinic for Integrated Medicine is a small doctor led service providing complementary and conventional consultation and treatment for a range of conditions on an outpatient basis, for patients over 18 years of age. The clinic focuses mainly on chronic conditions where patients have no conventional treatment options left. Patients visit the clinic from all over the world.

The clinic is located at:

The Old Brewery

High Street

Twyford

SO21 1RG

The core opening hours for the clinic are; Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 5.30pm and Friday 8.30am to 2.30pm. There are no doctor consultations at the clinic on Tuesdays and Fridays. Consultations are available in Harley Street on Tuesdays. Consultation and treatment are by appointment only. Patients are required to complete a medical history form to determine if they are suitable for treatment. Patients were provided with a telephone number, if they had any concerns about their treatment, outside of normal working hours.

The staff team at the clinic consists of a Medical Director (who is also the only doctor) and a team of nurses providing consultations and treatments. The clinic is managed by a practice manager who is also the registered manager and an assistant practice manager. There is also a dispensing team.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at The Dove Clinic for Integrated Medicine on 6 March 2019. Our inspection team was led by a CQC lead inspector. The team included a GP specialist advisor,

Prior to the inspection we reviewed a range of information we hold about the service, such as the last inspection reports from May and September 2013, any notifications received, and the information provided from the pre-inspection information request.

During our visit:

• We spoke with the registered manager, the Medical Director, the assistant practice manager, nurses and members of the administrative team.
• We looked at equipment and rooms used for providing treatment.
• We reviewed records and documents.

To get to the heart of patients’ 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 patients’ needs?
• Is it well led?

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

Updated 29 April 2019

We carried out this announced inspection on 6 March 2019 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 practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found that this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found that this practice was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

We carried out an 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.

The services are provided to adults over the age of 18, privately and are not commissioned by the NHS.

The service is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of the services it provides. The Dove Clinic for Integrated Care is registered to provide the regulated activities of diagnostic and screening and treatment of disease, disorder or injury. The types of services provided are doctor’s consultation service and doctor’s treatment service.

At the time of the inspection a registered manager was in place. 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 and associated regulations about how the service is run.

We received 28 CQC comment cards filled in by patients who used the service. Feedback was very positive about the service delivered at the clinic.

Our key findings were:

• Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people’s safety.
• All treatment rooms were well organised and well equipped.
• Staff told us they only provided treatment to people over the age of 18.
• Staff were up to date with current guidance and were led by a proactive management team.
• Staff maintained the necessary skills and competence to support the needs of patients.
• There were effective systems in place to check all equipment had been service regularly.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.
• Systems and risk assessments were in place to deal with medical emergencies. Appropriate medicines and life-saving equipment were available.
• The premises provided a therapeutic environment for patients.
• The provider had infection control procedures which reflected published guidance.
• The practice had systems to help them manage risk to patients and staff.
• The provider had thorough staff recruitment procedures.
• Staff treated patients with dignity and respect and took care to protect their privacy and personal information.
• The provider had effective leadership and culture of continuous improvement.
• Staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team.
• The provider asked staff and patients for feedback about the services they provided.
• The provider dealt with complaints positively and efficiently.
• The provider had suitable information governance arrangements.

We identified an area of notable practice.

• The clinic was a forerunner for treatment innovation and investigating new treatment options to ensure patients received the most up to date care and treatment. Constant studies and clinical trials were carried out in conjunction with Oxford University and St Georges University in London to ensure the robustness of new innovation. Feedback from patients overwhelmingly reported positive change.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements. They should:

• Continue to monitor safeguarding training for all staff to be in line with national guidance.
• Continue to implement appropriate actions relating to newly introduced water testing processes to reduce the risk of Legionella.