A Vita Limited Also known as A Vita Laser, Aesthetic and Beauty Specialists

Updated 1 August 2023

A Vita Limited is located at 22 High St, Yarm TS15 9AE.

All consultation rooms are located on the ground floor of the building. Patients have access to toilet facilities which are also on the ground floor.

A Vita Limited is registered with the CQC to carry out the regulated activities treatment of disease, disorder or injury, surgical procedures and diagnostic and screening procedures. The provider operates a clinician-led service which specialises in cosmetic surgery. Services are only offered to adults. The service does not offer NHS treatment. The service and the treatments within scope of registration are led and carried out by a plastic surgeon consultant (male) and 3 nurses, one of whom is currently on maternity leave (female). A Vita Limited is open Tuesday to Saturday with hours varying between 08:30-20:00.

How we inspected this service

Before visiting we reviewed a range of information we hold about the service and information provided pre-inspection by the service.

During our inspection we:

• Spoke with the Registered Provider
• Assessed care plans including pre and post operative documents.
• Reviewed documents and policies used by the service.
• Reviewed patient feedback received by the provider and by CQC.
• Examined the premises.

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 1 August 2023

This service is rated as Requires improvement overall.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Requires improvement

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? – Requires improvement

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at A Vita Ltd in response to information received. CQC has not previously inspected this service.

A Vita Limited provides a private aesthetics service for fee paying clients. This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services they provide. 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. For example, they offered a range of non-surgical cosmetic interventions, such as dermal filler injections, anti-wrinkle treatments and laser hair reduction, which are not within CQC scope of registration. Therefore, we did not inspect or report on these services. At the time of the inspection, the provider offered the following services which were within the scope of registration: -

• Excision of lesions
• Upper and lower blepharoplasty
• Nipple, areola reconstruction
• Short scar face lifts, Neck lifts

The nominated individual 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.

Our key findings were:

• The systems in place did not sufficiently assess, monitor and manage risks to patient safety.
• Care was provided to patients following consultation and in line with evidence-based practice.
• The provider had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out procedures offered at A Vita.
• Patients were treated with kindness, respect and compassion.
• The provider understood the needs of their patients and had a process in place to provide responsive holistic care.
• Patients were able to access care and treatment from the service within an appropriate timescale for their needs.
• There were some structures, systems and processes in place relating to leadership and improvements.

The area where the provider must make improvements as they are in breach of regulations are:

• Establish effective systems and processes to ensure good governance in accordance with the fundamental standards of care.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Carry out and document risk assessments to support decisions on how frequently or not to repeat Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks throughout a person’s employment.
• The provider should review, risk assess and document any decision to carry out surgical procedures without the presence of a suitably skilled assistant in the room.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

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