Accuvision Eye Care Clinic - Solihull

Updated 27 February 2024

AccuVision Limited was established in London, UK in December 2001. The provider opened the Solihull clinic in May 2005.

The service provides refractive (laser) eye surgery for patients over the age of 18. It primarily offers corneal laser vision correction surgery and treatments for short-sightedness (myopia), long-sightedness (hyperopia), astigmatism (a refractive error), keratoconus treatment (a progressive eye disease), age related long-sightedness (presbyopia) and access to non-laser cataract surgery through another provider or consultant ophthalmologist.

There are 6 eye surgeons, a clinical director, a registered manager, optometrists and nursing and administrative staff.

The service offers private patients self-paying access to services. The service is registered to provide the following regulated activities:

• Diagnostic and screening procedures
• Surgical procedures
• Treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

Most patients are self-referring, some patients are referred via their Optometrist or other practitioners. All patients pay for their refractive (laser) eye surgery themselves. Surgery days are variable and are booked according to demand. Clinic hours are 9am to 5pm Monday to Sunday, by appointment. Additional emergency late evening and weekend appointments are available on request.

The ophthalmic team consists of:

• Ophthalmology consultants

• Optometrists
• Registered nurses
• Administration staff.

Support services were provided from the London offices, this included, contract management, finance support, governance and IT systems.

The location had a registered manager who had been in post since being registered with the CQC in 2018.

From January to December 2023, the service undertook 980 procedures. The majority of these patients had laser eye surgery.

The main service provided at this location was corrective laser eye surgery with the majority of outpatient appointments being provided as part of the refractive eye surgical pathway. We did not inspect the outpatient services separately as part of this inspection as the main service was refractive eye surgery.

The service was previously inspected in October 2017. In 2017, the service was not rated as we did not have a legal duty to rate refractive eye surgery services when they were provided as a single speciality service.

Updated 27 February 2024

This was the first time we rated this service, we rated it as good because:

• The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service generally controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They generally managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information. Services were available 7 days a week.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
• Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported, and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with patients and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

However:

• We found sharps bins and pharmacy disposable bins on the floor, these were not labelled or closed. They were not stored safely and securely.
• We found eye drops in an unlocked drawer in the laser room, although the laser room was locked. Staff had access to the eye drops when in the room.
• We saw cleaning substances on shelves in the cleaners cupboard that was not locked. This did not comply with Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002.
• Governance meeting minutes were not always detailed or shared with staff.

Updated 27 February 2024

We rated it as good see the summary above for details.