Archived: Be Younger Cosmetics Clinic

Updated 7 July 2023

Be Younger Cosmetics Clinic is a small private clinic offering a range of cosmetic treatments under local anaesthetic. The clinic provides cosmetic surgery services for private patients over the age of 18 years. Treatments include botox injections, dermal fillers, removal of lumps and bumps, hernia repairs, liposuction and thread lifts (a procedure that uses dissolvable sutures to rejuvenate and lift sagging skin). They also see patients for pre and post-surgery consultations. Major surgery is performed at another location. Most of the cosmetic treatments fall out of the scope of regulation under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities), Regulation 2014. Of the treatments carried out, only lumps and bumps removal, hernia repairs, liposuction and PDO thread lift fall into the scope of CQC regulation.

Care was delivered by the provider who was a doctor with a license to practise. The clinic had a clinic manager and an assistant director, they employed a registered nurse and, a self-employed beauty therapist.

There is a registered manager, who is also the owner of Be Younger Cosmetics Clinic. The service was registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2020. This was the first inspection we carried out for the provider at this location. The service is registered to provide the following regulated activities:

• Diagnostic and screening procedures.
• Surgical procedures.
• Treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

The service had not reported any never events or serious patient safety incidents in the 12 months before our inspection.

The service had carried out 68 procedures within the scope of CQC regulation between 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023.

Updated 7 July 2023

We carried out a comprehensive inspection of Be Younger Cosmetics Limited, as part of our inspection programme. We inspected all our key questions: safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. This was our first inspection of the service.

Following the inspection, the provider was served a warning notice under Section 29 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, requiring them to make significant improvements to the design of the location, governance processes and employment processes.

After the inspection the provider sent assurances they were resolving the issues within the breaches and told us they would suspend their regulated activities until these had been rectified.

This was the first time we inspected the service. We rated the service as inadequate because:

• Managers did not make sure staff were competent. The service did not have processes to monitor the professional registration of nursing staff working at the service. They did not have processes to provide assurance that staff had up to date training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well.
• Information required to support safe recruitment of new staff was not all collected and in line with legislation.
• Medicines were not always managed safely, and the service did not have a policy for antimicrobial prescribing.
• The service did not control infection risk well.
• Governance processes were not effective to demonstrate oversight of patient safety and outcomes and risks were not captured. There were no written documents to show evidence-based care.
• Leaders did not have the necessary knowledge, skills or abilities to run the service. Leaders did not operate effective governance processes throughout the service. Staff did not use systems to manage performance effectively. They did not identify, review or manage risks and issues effectively.
• Information about how to make a complaint was not available on the service’s website.

However:

• People could access the service when they needed it. The service planned and took account of patients’ individual needs. Staff were focussed on the needs of the patients receiving care.
• The service engaged well with patients and gave them contact details to provide 24/7 support if required.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people and made it easy for people to give feedback.
• Staff felt respected, supported and valued. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities.

Updated 7 July 2023