We carried out a review of the data available to us about Sk:n - Norwich on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Sk:n - Norwich, you can give feedback on this service.
This service was last inspected by the CQC on 19 June 2013. At that time providers were not rated but were inspected, and judgements made, across five key standards and at that inspection it was found that action was needed to address issues found in assessing and monitoring the quality of service provided. Specifically, the provider did not have in place an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of patients’ records.
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 Sk:n – Norwich, on 2 December 2021 as part of our inspection programme. During this inspection we saw evidence to show that the issues identified in 2013 had been addressed with systems that had been in place for several years.
Sk:n – Norwich is registered under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 to provide the following regulated activities:
This service provides independent dermatology services, offering a mix of regulated skin treatments as well as other non-regulated aesthetic treatments. 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. We only inspected and reported on the services which are within the scope of registration with the CQC.
At the time of the inspection there was no registered manager in place as the previous manager had left the organisation earlier that year. 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. However, we saw evidence that an application had been made by the Clinic Manager (Designate) for a new registered manager to be appointed, and that they were awaiting their Fit Person Interview.
Due to the current pandemic we were unable to obtain comments from patients via our normal process of asking the provider to place comment cards within the service location. However, we saw from internal surveys and reviews on social media that patients were consistently positive about the service, describing staff as professional, kind, polite, non-judgemental and caring. Patients also commented on the clinic being well maintained and clean. We did not speak with patients on the day, as there were none attending for regulated activities.
Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care
We saw that the clinic rooms were clean, free from any unpleasant odours and that infection control practices were in place. For example, we observed staff wearing protective clothing, saw that hand gels were readily available and that cleaning equipment was in place.
Appropriate checks were undertaken before staff began work to ensure that only suitably vetted people were employed to work at the clinic.
Improvements had been made to the maintenance of records. However we found the provider was not appropriately monitoring the quality of records where clients had undergone minor operations.
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We also found that all people said obtaining consent had been discussed with them either 'Well' or 'Very Well'. We also saw that each person had been asked to consent to their GP being contacted with regards to the treatment they were undergoing.
People were protected from unsafe or unsuitable equipment because the provider ensured maintenance and regular checks were undertaken.
Staff spoken with and records seen confirmed that staff were appropriately trained and supported to undertake their roles.
An appropriate complaints system was in place. However we identified concerns with regards to record keeping. We found that some records were incomplete and information was missing.
Using the new style, all clients were surveyed and asked about both consultation and treatment. This location scored the highest level of satisfaction in the region reaching score of 78 for treatment and 91 for the full month of April this year.