AL Medical Aesthetics & Wellness Ltd

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, as part of our inspection programme on 22 September 2021 at AL Medical Aesthetics & Wellness Ltd. The service is provided from 68 Albany Road, Bramhall, Stockport SK7 1NE. This was the first CQC inspection for this location.

This service 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 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. AL Medical Aesthetics & Wellness Ltd provides a range of non-surgical cosmetic interventions, for example facial fillers for skin rejuvenation, which are not within CQC scope of registration. Therefore, we did not inspect or report on these services. AL Medical and Aesthetics Ltd currently treats approximately 1600 patients, however, only 11 of these receive treatments that are regulated activities.

The registered provider is an advanced clinical practitioner within the NHS and a registered aesthetic nurse and leads the service, she is the only member of staff. 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 was closed for several months during 2020 in accordance with lock down restrictions, apart from 4 weeks during October. AL Medical and Aesthetics Ltd re-opened on 12 April 2021, providing a service Tuesday 4pm to 9pm, Wednesday and Thursday 9am to 9pm and Saturday 9am to 6pm.

As part of our adapted inspection methodology to limit direct contact between the inspection team and people using the service we asked the provider to share our ‘contact us’ website link (https://www.cqc.org.uk/give-feedback-on-care ) so that patients could provide feedback directly to us. We did not receive any feedback forms, however, we were able to obtain feedback from other sources, for example speaking to patients and patients’ surveys.

Our key findings were:

• The service was offered on a private, fee-paying basis only and was accessible to patients who chose to use it.

• Information for patients was comprehensive and accessible. This included the services on offer and the levels of payment. However, it was not always clear whether patients had been offered licensed medecines for their treatment, before unlicensed alternatives were prescribed.

• Patient feedback was positive, complimenting the service they received and the quality of their care and treatment.

• There was good awareness of safety measures to minimise the risk of COVID19 transmission. Infection prevention and control measures were effectively implemented.

• Treatment outcomes were evaluated using feedback from patients and reviews carried out by the provider which included some audits to evaluate and undertake quality improvement processes.

• Procedures were mostly safely managed and there were effective levels of patient support and aftercare. However, medecines policies did not fully reflect current practice at the service. The provider assured us policies and operating procedures would be updated to be more comprehensive and safe.

• The electronic patient record system comprehensively recorded patients’ information including consent to treatment and photography.

• The provider was a registered aesthetic nurse and had the relevant skills, knowledge and experience to deliver the care and treatment offered by the service.

• The provider involved patients in decisions regarding their care and treatment. The service encouraged and valued feedback from patients.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Review and update policies and protocols to reflect the current practice.

• Only supply unlicensed medicines against valid special clinical needs of an individual patient where there is no suitable licensed medicine available.

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