Dr M R Rakus

Updated 21 February 2020

Dr MR Rakus is an independent provider of medical services. The service provides aesthetic services that are not regulated by the CQC, but some services that are, including treatment of hyperhidrosis, platelet rich plasma (PRP) non-aesthetic procedures and mole removals. The service was going to commence providing PRP joint injections shortly after the inspection. Services are provided from 34a Hans Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1RW in the London borough of Westminster. All of the services provided are private and are therefore fee paying, no NHS services are provided at the service. Some of the patients seen at the service will be seen once or twice, while others will receive long term care.

The service is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm. The service is also open on Saturdays from 9am until 5pm. The service has practitioners on call out of hours in the event that existing patients need to speak to clinicians, but does not offer elective care outside of these hours.

The premise is located on the ground floor. The property is leased by the provider and the premises consist of a patient reception area, and five consulting/treatment rooms.

The service is operated by a lead practitioner and a service manager. The service also employs three doctors and a nurse, while three other doctors work at the service with practising privileges. The clinicians at the service are supported by a team of administrators who are also trained as clinical assistants.

During the inspection we utilised a number of methods to support our judgement of the services provided. For example, we asked people using the service to record their views on comment cards, interviewed staff, and reviewed documents relating to the service/clinic.

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 people’s needs?
• Is it well-led?

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

Updated 21 February 2020

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 Dr M R Rakus on 21 January 2020. This was the first CQC inspection of this location under the current CQC inspection methodology, although the location had previously been inspected in 2013.

This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. There are some exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of regulated activities and services and these are set out in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Dr M R Rakus provides a range of non-surgical cosmetic interventions, which are not within CQC scope of registration. Therefore, we did not inspect or report on these services.

Dr Rakus is the registered manager of the service. 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 service provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• The service organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
• The way the service was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• The service should ensure that all staff have undertaken fire safety and information governance training, and ensure that records of all training completed by staff are kept at the clinic, including those for doctors with practising privileges.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care