The Whiteley Clinic London

Updated 26 July 2017

The Whiteley Clinic London is operated by The Whiteley Clinic Ltd. The Whiteley Clinic Ltd. offers services from clinics in Guildford, London and Bristol, for patients with venous conditions. The head office is located in Guildford and the service in London opened in 2014. Being close to Bond Street tube station and the new crossrail terminal, the clinic is convenient to all patients coming in to London.

The London Clinic is approximately 3000 ft² and has consulting rooms, treatment rooms, one operating theatre for endovenous or other surgery and a second with radiological shielding (cadmium lined paint) approved for fluoroscopy. Use of a C-arm (a medical imaging device based on x-ray technology) enables the clinic to perform pelvic vein embolisation which has been one of the main advances in the treatment of venous disorders.

Regulated activities provided by the clinic are treatment of disease, disorder or injury, surgical procedures and diagnostic and screening procedures. These activities are provided for the treatment of vascular conditions on an outpatient basis.

Third party providers managed laser protection, occupational health, pathology, pharmacy and radiology protection.

This is the first inspection of this service by CQC at this location. We inspected the service on 21 March as an announced inspection. 

The current registered manager at the clinic has been in post since June 2016.

Updated 26 July 2017

The Whiteley Clinic London is operated by The Whiteley Clinic Ltd which is an organisation consisting of clinics in three locations across England. The Whiteley Clinic London was governed by and follows protocols of The Whiteley Clinic Ltd. The London clinic has no inpatient beds. Facilities include consultation rooms, treatment rooms, one operating theatre for endovenous or other surgery, and a second with radiological shielding approved for fluoroscopy, and scan room used for diagnostic screening.

We carried out a comprehensive inspection of The Whiteley Clinic London on 21st March 2017 as part of our national programme to inspect and rate all independent hospitals.

We inspected the following core service:

• outpatients and diagnostic imaging services (including surgery)

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we ask the same five questions of all services: are they safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs, and well-led? Where we have a legal duty to do so we rate services’ performance against each key question as outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.

Throughout the inspection, we took account of what people told us and how the provider understood and complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

We rated this hospital as good overall.

Our key findings were as follows:

• Staff were aware of how to report incidents. Incidents and complaints were reviewed at the monthly clinical governance meeting. Processes were in place for investigating, reviewing and sharing learning from incidents.
• Standards of cleanliness and hygiene were high throughout the clinic. Equipment within the clinic was maintained and serviced appropriately, and medicines were stored securely.
• Staff were competent within their roles. Most staff within the clinic were up to date with their mandatory training. The clinic undertook timely inductions and appraisals, and staff had the appropriate skills to carry out their duties.
• All procedures and treatment at the clinic were based on research that had been ongoing since the opening of the Whiteley Clinic Ltd in 1999. NICE guidelines for the management of varicose veins (CG168) published in 2013 mirrored the policies and procedures already undertaken at the clinic.
• The clinic undertook regular patient audits. Research undertaken by the Whiteley Clinic Ltd demonstrated a high success rate in treating venous disease.
• All patient feedback that we received was positive. Patients said that they felt fully involved in their treatment. Staff regularly checked patients in relation to their comfort level.
• The service was flexible in responding to patient needs. Appointments were usually offered within three weeks. Alternative arrangements were made on the rare occasion that clinics were cancelled.
• The clinic and staff working there had a vision and drive to deliver evidence based and effective treatment for the management of varicose veins. The clinic demonstrated an ability to apply cutting edge research to clinical care and treatment, to deliver the best patient outcomes.
• The clinic used the Whiteley Protocol, a research based protocol used in the treatment of venous disease. All staff were trained in the Whiteley Protocol to ensure a consistent high standard of care.
• The senior management team were visible and approachable. There were high levels of engagement with staff through ‘state of the nation’ talks and annual academic days.

Following this inspection, we told the provider that it should make some improvements, even though a regulation had not been breached, to help the service improve.

The hospital should:

Ensure all staff comply with the procedures and guidelines when disposing of sharps to reduce the risk of needlestick injuries.

Create a list of authorised staff and schedule a review for each patient group direction used at the clinic as recommended by NICE guidelines on patient group directions (MPG2)..

Ensure all response times to complaints are recorded so that the clinic can be assured that they are responding within the appropriate time frame.

Professor Sir Mike Richards

Chief Inspector of Hospitals

Updated 26 July 2017

The clinic demonstrated an ability to apply cutting edge research to clinical care and treatment to deliver the best patient outcomes.

The leadership team were driven to continuously improve standards, and provide high quality care and the best results for their patients. The latest research demonstrated an 88% success rate in treating patients with varicose veins followed up over fifteen years.

Staff were aware of how to report incidents. Processes were in place for investigating, reviewing and sharing learning from incidents.

Standards of cleanliness and hygiene were high throughout the clinic. Infection control policies and procedures were in place to prevent the spread of infection.

The clinic had processes to assess patient risk. Patients were able to contact a consultant outside of working hours if they had any medical concerns.

All procedures and treatment were based on current research at the clinic.

The NICE guidelines for the diagnosis and management of varicose veins (CG168) published in 2013 mirrored policies and procedures undertaken at the clinic.

All patient feedback that we received was positive. Patients said that staff put them at ease and made them feel comfortable during their time at the clinic.

The clinic usually offered an appointment within three weeks. Staff aimed to be flexible and, where available, offered an appointment at a different location if the patient wished to be seen earlier.

The clinic used the Whiteley Protocol, a research based protocol used in the treatment of venous disease. All staff were trained in the Whiteley Protocol to ensure a consistent high standard of care.

Staff told us, and we saw, that the leadership team were visible and approachable. Management had an open door policy and this enabled staff to raise concerns when necessary.

The clinic used pelvic vein embolisation, a major advance in the treatment of venous disease.