The Devonshire 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 The Devonshire Clinic on 2 December 2021 as part of our inspection programme. This was the first CQC inspection of this location.

The Devonshire Clinic is a consultant-led private dermatology clinic offering treatment for skin cancer and medical dermatology services to adults only. All services are private and subject to payment of fees, with no NHS services provided.

The provider 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 general exemptions from regulation by CQC, relating to particular types of service and these are set out in Schedule 2 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. For example, The Devonshire Clinic 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.

The provider’s Business Manager is the CQC 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’s founder, who is the Medical Director and lead consultant, is the CQC nominated individual. A nominated individual is a person who is registered with the CQC to supervise the management of the regulated activities and for ensuring the quality of the services provided.

Our key findings were:

• The service had clear systems to keep patients safe and safeguarded from abuse.
• Staff had the information they needed to deliver safe care and treatment to patients.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was delivered in line with current standards and evidence-based guidance.
• Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their roles.
• The service treated patients with kindness, respect and compassion. Feedback from patients was very positive about the service.
• The service organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs.
• Patients were able to access care and treatment from the service within an acceptable timescale for their needs.
• There was a clear leadership structure in place and staff felt supported by management.
• The provider had a culture of high-quality sustainable care.
• The service had a governance framework and had established processes for managing risks, issues and performance.
• There were systems and processes for learning, continuous improvement and innovation.

We saw the following areas of notable practice:

• The service had established twice-monthly multidisciplinary team meetings, chaired by the lead consultant, for the service’s consultants along with specialists and clinicians working for the healthcare provider who managed and operated in the building. There was representation from a range of specialisms at these meetings, including dermatology, plastics, radiology, dermatopathology, and medical and clinical oncology. This was a forum for discussion of complex clinical cases and enabled peer-to-peer learning and input from a range of specialists.
• The service had a comprehensive programme of clinical audits, and audits we reviewed demonstrated a high standard of clinical care which exceeded British Association of Dermatologists targets.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP
Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care