Updated 19 July 2019
Skin55 Limited is a consultant led provider of specialist dermatology services located at 55 Harley Street, London, W1G 8QR. The location has five floors and a lower ground floor. The reception, waiting room and administrative offices are on the ground floor as well as accessible toilet facilities. The lower ground floor is the main area for therapies which includes a laser room, two rooms for minor surgical procedures and a nurse treatment room which includes equipment for phototherapy. There are ten consultation rooms throughout the premises as well as regular toilet facilities. There is lift access to all floors.
The clinic employs a manager, three nurses and two reception staff. The nursing staff consist of a band 7 equivalent nurse and two band 6 equivalent nurses.
There are 14 consultant dermatologists who rent rooms from the provider and work under practising privileges (the granting of practising privileges is a well-established process within independent healthcare whereby a medical practitioner is granted permission to work in an independent hospital or clinic, in independent private practice, or within the provision of community services). All the consultants hold NHS substantive positions. The consultants source their own patients and provide care and treatment with the support of the providers nursing team. One of the nurses specialises in skin cancer, a second nurse leads on dermatology and a third nurse leads on minor surgery.
Services provided include skin cancer care, medical and surgical dermatology (under local anaesthetic), laser treatment, phototherapy, mole mapping and wound care.
The clinic is open 8.30am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 8.30am to 12pm every Saturday. The clinic provides care and treatment for approximately 200 people a week.
How we inspected this 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.
Our inspection team was led by a CQC lead inspector. The team included a specialist adviser.