Archived: Thames Valley Vasectomy Services

Updated 21 November 2018

Thames Valley Vasectomy Services Ltd is registered with the CQC as an independent health care provider. The service operates from rented clinical rooms in a local hospital in Maidenhead, Berkshire:

St Marks Hospital

Outpatients Dept

St Marks Road

Maidenhead

Berkshire

SL6 6DU

The opening hours are Wednesdays and Fridays from 8am to 6pm. A dedicated telephone line can take queries and book consultations and procedures Monday to Friday from 10am to 5pm.

As well as “no-scalpel” vasectomies, the clinic can also remove minor lumps and bumps.

This inspection was undertaken on 10 October 2018. The team was led by a CQC lead inspector who was accompanied by a GP specialist advisor with experience of minor surgery and vasectomy.

Prior to the inspection, we informed the local Clinical Commissioning Group and local Healthwatch and asked them to send us information. We also asked the provider to send us information.

During the inspection we spoke with two vasectomy surgeons, the practice manager and a nurse. We also received written feedback from three administration staff and two nurses.

We asked for feedback from patients about their experience of the service. We received 49 comments cards and 14 online responses. All the feedback received was positive about the care and support received.

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 21 November 2018

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 10 October 2018 to ask the service the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found that this service was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this service was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found that this service was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found that this service was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that this service was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the service was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Our key findings were:

• The service had clear systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the service learned from them and improved their processes.
• The service routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence-based guidelines.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patients found the service accessible and responsive to their needs. The service was adaptable and flexible in dealing with individual circumstances.
• Complaints were investigated and responded to in line with guidance, although verbal interactions were not documented.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Ensure the safeguarding children policy and process is embedded.
• Review complaints processes to include verbal interactions and document them according to guidance.