The Ear Wax Clinic

Updated 26 January 2023

The Ear Wax Clinic provides an ear microsuction service which operates of Pebble Brook Clinic,

Exeter Road, Newton Poppleford, Sidmouth, Devon, EX10 0BJ. We carried out a site visit as part of this inspection.

The Ear Wax Clinic was registered with the CQC in July 2022 to provide care and treatment under the regulated activity treatment of disease disorder or injury.

The service is provided to children and adults. Approximately 60 patients per week attend the service.

The service is provided three days a week on Mondays from 7.30 am to 2 pm, Tuesdays from 9.30 am to 7 pm, and Fridays from 10 am to 2 pm. Clinics are held on alternate Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm. Home visits, including to people who live in care homes, are arranged when requested.

Information regarding the service can be obtained from the services website; www.theearwaxclinic.org

How we inspected this service

We gathered and reviewed information prior to and during the inspection which was obtained from the provider. We spoke with the registered manager and reviewed patient feedback which had been obtained by the service.

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 26 January 2023

This service is rated as Good overall and this is the first inspection since the service registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in July 2022.

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 The Ear Wax Clinic as part of our inspection programme. The Ear Wax Clinic provides an ear wax removal service using microsuction.

The Ear Wax Clinic is registered with CQC to provide the regulated activity treatment of disease, disorder or injury and is located within Pebble Brook Clinic. Pebble Brook Clinic provides a range of services which are exempt from regulation by CQC. 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. For example, audiology, counselling services and non-surgical cosmetic interventions. Therefore, we did not inspect or report on these services.

The service is provided by a registered nurse who is also the nominated individual and the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the CQC 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. The service employs one member of staff whose role is receptionist and a volunteer who supports reception and carries out administrative roles. For the purpose of this report we will refer to the registered manager, the receptionist and the volunteer as the ‘staff’.

We reviewed feedback which had been provided to the service from patients. This demonstrated patients were satisfied with the care and treatment provided and appreciative of the advice and information provided to them during their appointment.

Our key findings were:

• The service had systems and processes to manage risk, keep patients safe, and safeguarded from abuse.
• Clinical records provided detailed information regarding the care and treatment which was provided to patients attending the service.
• Care and treatment was delivered following current evidence based practice guidelines.
• Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their roles.
• Staff were kind and respectful to patients and provided information to enable them to be involved in decisions about their care and treatment.
• The service was organised to meet patients’ needs and responded positively and took action following feedback from patients.
• The service had a clear vision and strategy to deliver high quality care.
• Staff were aware of their roles and responsibilities. Systems and processes had been developed to support good governance and management.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

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