The Care Quality Commission
  • Hospital
  • Independent hospital

MY Eye Clinic

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Great North Road, Brunton Park, Gosforth, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE3 5NA (0191) 917 8886

Provided and run by:
Minor Ops Limited

All Inspections

15-16 August 2023

During a routine inspection

Our rating of this location improved. We rated it as good because:

  • Staff were compliant with mandatory training. All staff received the appropriate training levels for safeguarding awareness for their roles. Staff followed infection prevention and control guidance. All areas were clean and tidy. Risk assessments were completed for each patient. Staff had the right qualifications and skills to provide the right care and treatment. Staff kept comprehensive records regarding patient care, and these were stored securely. Medicines were safely stored in locked cupboards were appropriately. The service managed patient safety incidents well.
  • The service provided care and treatment based on national guidance and evidence-based practice. Staff gave patients enough to drink to meet their needs. Staff assessed and monitored patients regularly to see if they were in pain. Staff monitored the effectiveness of care and treatment. The service made sure staff were competent for their roles. Consultant Ophthalmologists, nurses, and other healthcare professionals worked together as a team to benefit patients. Staff supported patients to make informed decisions about their care and treatment.
  • Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness. Staff supported and involved patients to understand their condition and make decisions about their care and treatment. Staff provided emotional support to patients, families, and carers to minimise their distress.
  • The service planned care to meet the needs of local people 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. The service treated concerns and complaints seriously, investigated them and shared lessons learned with all staff.

Leaders had the skills and abilities to run the service. The service had a vision for what it wanted to achieve. Staff felt respected, supported, and valued. Leaders operated effective governance processes, throughout the service. Leaders and teams used systems to manage performance effectively. The service collected reliable data and analysed it. Leaders and staff actively and openly engaged with patients and staff to manage the service. All staff were committed to continually learning and improving services.

07 October 2022

During a routine inspection

My Eye Clinic is an independent provider operated by Minor Ops Limited. The service offers a range of privately funded ophthalmic treatments to patients over the age of 18. Services include general ophthalmology, cataract surgery including pre- and post-operative assessment, Ocular hypertension and glaucoma treatment and monitoring, eyelid and tear duct surgery, YAG laser treatment, medical retina services for conditions that affect the back of the eye. Oculoplastic, medical retina, and yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG) laser treatments.

YAG laser capsulotomy is a type of laser treatment that is used to make a hole in the capsule to allow light to pass through to the back of the eye to improve vision. The YAG laser is used as the final part of the cataract surgery.

Patients are mostly self-referring and pay for their eye surgery themselves. Surgery days are variable and are booked according to demand. There are no overnight facilities and clinics operate Monday to Friday, with occasional opening on weekends and evenings if there is a need to do so, as required by demand of the patients.

They also hold a contract fora community-based ophthalmology service with the local Integrated Care Board for the treatment of NHS patients. They have held this contract since 2007.

The clinic operates from the ground floor of a building. The ground floor has a reception area, main waiting room and six clinical areas including a theatre and laser treatment room. On the first floor, there is a managers' office.

The service has not been subject to any external review or investigation by the CQC at any time during the 12 months before the inspection. There had been no never events in the preceding 12 months. Never events are serious, largely preventable patient safety incidents, which should not occur if the available preventative measures have been put into place by healthcare providers.

We inspected the service using our comprehensive inspection methodology. We carried out an unannounced inspection on 7 October 2022.

You can find information about how we carry out our inspections on our website: https://www.cqc.org.uk/what-we-do/

how-we-do-our-job/what-we-do-inspection.

We rated it as inadequate because:

  • Following this inspection, we served the provider Warning Notices under Section 29 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008. The warning notices told the provider they were in breach of Regulations 12 and 17 and gave the provider a timescale to make improvements to achieve compliance. The principles we use when rating providers requires CQC to reflect enforcement action in our ratings. The warning notices identified concerns in the safe and well-led domain. This means that the warning notices we served has limited the rating for safe and well-led to inadequate. The warning notices that we issued have not been published.
  • Equipment checks were not always carried out and recorded to ensure they were ready to use.
  • Not all staff had completed safeguarding training in line with guidance and medicines were not stored appropriately.
  • Medicines were not stored securely and emergency medicines on the resuscitation trolley were out of date.
  • The service did not have information leaflets available in languages spoken by the patients and local community.
  • The service did not have effective governance systems ensuring appropriate recruitment checks to grant staff practicing privileges. There were no systems in place to ensure persons employed had undergone safe recruitment procedures and employment checks.

  • However:

  • Staff assessed individual risks for each patient at the initial consultation, using a standardised tool, they reviewed them before the procedure to ensure risks were minimised. Staff obtained consent to care and treatment in line with legislation and guidance.
  • Staff followed up-to-date policies to plan and deliver care according to best practice and national guidance. Patients had good outcomes because they received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
  • Patients said that staff treated them well and with kindness. Patient feedback included that staff were professional, courteous, compassionate, and patient. The service had received no negative feedback about patient care.
  • Facilities and premises were appropriate for the services being delivered. Feedback from patients who used the service and those who were close to them was positive about the way staff treated patients.
  • Leaders were visible and accessible to staff. All staff were proud to deliver patient centred care. Leaders had a vision and strategy for the service and all staff knew what this was. Leaders were approachable and responsive to staff feedback.