London Prolotherapy Ltd

Updated 2 February 2023

London Prolotherapy Ltd is an independent clinic in North West London.

Services are provided from: 88 Willesden Lane, London NW6 7TA. We visited this location as part of the inspection on 7 December 2022.

The service provides ultrasound-guided prolotherapy injections in the spine area, joint injections and osteopathy services.

The service was open to children and adults.

The service does not have a website.

The clinic is open from 9am to 3pm on Saturday.

The service is run by a senior doctor and they do not employ any staff.

The service is registered with the CQC to provide the regulated activity of treatment of disease, disorder or injury and diagnostics and screening procedures.

How we inspected this service

Pre-inspection information was gathered and reviewed before the inspection. We spoke with the senior doctor. We looked at records related to patient assessments and the provision of care and treatment. We also reviewed documentation related to the management of the service. We reviewed patient feedback collected by the 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.

Updated 2 February 2023

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 London Prolotherapy Ltd on 7 December 2022 as part of our inspection programme.

The service offered ultrasound-guided prolotherapy (an injection treatment used to relieve pain) injections in the spine area. In addition, the service offered joint injections and osteopathy (a way of detecting, treating and preventing health problems by moving, stretching and massaging a person's muscles and joints).

The senior doctor is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.

For reasons of safety and infection prevention and control related to the COVID-19 pandemic, we did not commission patient feedback with CQC comment cards. We spoke to four patients during this inspection and received positive feedback.

Our key findings were:

• There were clear systems and processes to safeguard patients from abuse. The doctor had received training appropriate to their role.
• Consultations were comprehensive and undertaken in a professional manner.
• Clinical records were detailed and held securely.
• Consent procedures were in place and these were in line with legal requirements.
• There was evidence of quality improvement activity.
• The doctor was proactive in considering ways to improve and drive research in this specialist area.
• There was an infection prevention and control policy and procedures were in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection.
• Patients were able to access care and treatment in a timely manner.
• The service proactively gathered feedback from the patients.
• Information about services and how to complain was available.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services