Skin Medical Manchester

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 16 November 2017 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 processes in place supported safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that processes in place supported effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

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

Are services responsive?

We found that processes in place supported responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that the service was well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

We carried out this 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.

CQC last inspected this service on 12 December 2013. That was an unannounced inspection and the service met all standards assessed.

Skin Medical Manchester is registered to carry out the regulated activities:

• Surgical procedures
• Treatment of disease, disorder and injury (TDDI).

Skin Medical Manchester operates from a suite of private consulting rooms situated in St Ann's Square, Manchester. There is a reception area, a waiting room, four consulting rooms and a theatre.

The service is a private medical practice providing services mainly to patients with skin conditions and imperfections. Minor surgery provided is Dermatological, Vaser liposuction and Stop Snoring. All surgery is carried out under local anaesthetic.

Hours of opening are Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm and late openingsTuesday and Thursday 5pm to 7pm.

The service treats patients of 18 years or older for the regulated activities.

The registered manager is also a qualified nurse who acts as the lead on infection control. 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.

As part of our inspection we asked for CQC comment cards to be completed by patients prior to our inspection visit. We received 65 comment cards which were all very positive about the standard of care received. Comments included; ‘Throughout all my treatments I have been listened to and respected, absolutely fantastic service,’ ‘The information provided was honest and helpful,’ ‘Everyone at Skin Medical has been incredibly helpful and made me feel comfortable and safe throughout my treatment’ and ‘Patient care is paramount at Skin Medical.’

Our key findings were:

• There were policies and procedures in place for safeguarding patients from the risk of abuse. Staff had received training in safeguarding.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and treatment was discussed and planned with the patient and consent obtained prior to any treatment being given.
• Patients we spoke with on the day of inspection all said they were happy with the treatment provided and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• Patients told us they were given good verbal and written information regarding their treatment and all questions were fully answered.
• Staff felt supported and had access to appropriate training.

• Opening times of the service were clearly displayed on the website.

• There was a system in place to manage complaints.

• There were systems in place to monitor and improve quality and identify risk.
• Patient satisfaction views were obtained.
• The premises were clean and personal protective equipment (PPE) was readily available.

• An induction programme was in place for staff.

There were areas where the provider should make improvements:

• The service should undertake formal infection control audits and continue to record the visual checks of cleanliness.
• The service should ensure the continued recordings of the drug fridge temperatures to ensure medication is consistently stored at the correct temperature.
• The service should ensure a continued audit process for prescribed medication that is prescribed and picked up from the chemist on behalf of the patient.
• The scope of issues considered for recording significant events should be broadened and there should be a sustained record of lessons from significant events, individual concerns and complaints. 
• Polices and procedures should be reviewed and updated to ensure they reflect current best practice guidance and legislation.