Abbey Fertility Clinic

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 Abbey Fertility Clinic on 8 August 2023 as part of our inspection programme.

Abbey Fertility Clinic is a private healthcare service providing assessment and treatment for people undergoing assisted conception. The service is not required to hold a licence with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). Patients who require services that are registered with the HFEA are referred to other HFEA registered services in the region.

The service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some 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.

The service has a designated registered manager, Mr R Gazvani who is also the clinical lead. 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 people safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
• People who used the service received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• Staff dealt with people who used the service with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
• The service organised and delivered services to meet the needs of people who used it. People could access care and treatment in a timely way.
• Staff reported a good culture and systems were in place for quality control and governance.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should make the following improvements:

• Carry out a formalised risk assessment to determine the range of emergency medicines and the equipment required for responding to medical emergencies.
• Introduce a formal process for ensuring people who use the service are aware of the arrangements for data protection.
• Develop the infection prevention and control audit to include arrangements for cleaning specific equipment.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

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