Suffolk Medical Clinic

Updated 25 July 2019

Suffolk Medical Clinic Ltd is located at 6 Broad Street, Boxford, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 5DX. The service is a medical skin laser and aesthetic clinic. The service run satellite clinics once a month in Bury St Edmonds and Woodbridge.

This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of the provision of advice or treatment of patients suffering with migraines, Bell’s Palsy and the treatment of Hyperhidrosis with the use of Botulinum Toxin. The treatment of patients with Botulinum Toxin was undertaken by a registered Doctor, who prescribes medicines, and a registered nurse. The Doctor also provides a service for the removal of moles and sebaceous cysts via excision.

There are some exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of services and these are set out in Schedule 2 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. At Suffolk Medical Clinic Ltd the aesthetic cosmetic treatments, including ear piercing for children aged over 10-year and for adults the use of laser treatment and dermal fillers, are exempt by law from CQC regulation and were therefore not inspected.

The service is registered with the CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 to provide the following regulated activities:

Regulated activities are not carried out on clients under the age of 18 years. They provide a number of aesthetic cosmetic treatments, for example; laser hair and thread vein removal and dermal fillers which we did not inspect as they are out of the scope of CQC regulation.

Suffolk Medical Clinic Ltd opened in 2000 and is run by a doctor and nurse. The service also has three beauty therapists, a clinic administrator and a marketing and public relations consultant. The service consists of a main waiting room which includes a nail beauty treatment area, a toilet, a reception area, four treatment rooms and a kitchen.

Appointments are offered on a mainly pre-bookable basis and there is on-site car parking.

Hours of opening are: Monday to Friday 9am to 7pm and on alternate weeks Monday to Thursday 9am to 7pm and Saturday 9am to 5pm.

Suffolk Medical Clinic Ltd was inspected on 9 August 2018.

The inspection was led by a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspector and a GP specialist advisor.

Before visiting, we reviewed a range of information we hold about the service and asked them to send us some pre inspection information which we reviewed.

During our visit we:

• Spoke with the doctor and nurse.

• Reviewed a sample of treatment records.

• Reviewed comment cards where clients had shared their views and experiences of the service.

• Looked at information the service used to deliver care and treatment plans.

To get to the heart of clients’ 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?

Updated 25 July 2019

We have inspected Suffolk Medical Clinic Ltd previously; on 9 August 2018, we did not rate the service but found the provider was compliant in all domains.

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 Suffolk Medical Clinic Ltd on 8 July 2019 as part of our inspection programme and to rate the service.

Suffolk Medical Clinic Ltd is a medical skin laser and aesthetic clinic. They offer laser, hair and thread vein removal, dermal fillers, and Botulinum Toxin (Botox) treatments for cosmetic purposes, migraine pain, Bell’s Palsy (temporary facial paralysis) and Hyperhidrosis(excessive sweating).

This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of the provision of advice or treatment of patients suffering with migraines, Bell’s Palsy and the treatment of Hyperhidrosis with the use of Botulinum Toxin. The treatment of patients with Botulinum Toxin was undertaken by a registered Doctor, who prescribes medicines, and a registered nurse. The Doctor also provides a service for the removal of moles and sebaceous cysts via excision. There are some exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to particular types of services and these are set out in Schedule 2 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. At Suffolk Medical Clinic Ltd the aesthetic cosmetic treatments, including ear piercing for children aged over 10-year and for adults the use of laser treatment and dermal fillers, are exempt by law from CQC regulation and were therefore not inspected.

The service is registered with the CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 to provide the following regulated activities:

• Treatment of disease, disorder or injury.
• Surgical procedures.

The manager of the clinic 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.

The service proactively gained feedback from patients with regular reports compiled from the surveys. As part of our inspection we reviewed the results of the patient surveys that had been collected over the previous 12 months.

We received forty-eight Care Quality Commission comment cards, and all of these were wholly positive about the care and service and positive outcomes the patients had received.

Our key findings were:

• We saw there was leadership within the service and the team worked together in a cohesive, supported, and open manner.
• There was an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
• Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand.
• The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the Duty of Candour.
• All staff had received a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
• Risks to patients were assessed and monitored.
• The service held a central register of policies and procedures which were in place to govern activity; staff were able to access these policies easily.
• The service had embedded the system to ensure clinical auditing was completed to achieve quality improvement.
• Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence-based guidance.
• Staff had the skills, knowledge, and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
• All patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity, and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
• The service had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
• The service proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on. Regular surveys were undertaken, and reports collated from the findings and action taken where required.

We did not find any breaches of regulation, but the provider should;

• Monitor the system and process to assess the need for any additional emergency medicines appropriate to the treatments provided and to ensure they are safe to use.
• Embed the newly implemented system to ensure all histology results are received and acted upon.
• Ensure that all identity checks are documented in the records to ensure safe care and treatment.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGPChief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care