Archived: River Aesthetics

The service was registered with Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 21 August 2020 and this is the first inspection since registration. The 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 River Aesthetics on 28 September 2022 as part of our planned inspection programme.

River aesthetics is a location and the registered provider is River Aesthetics Limited. The clinic provides services for privately funded patients who self-refer to the service.

The provider has one location at the address above in Bournemouth and a further satellite clinic at Harley Street in London. The service also has a clinic in Lymington which does not provide CQC regulated activities.

This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of some, but not all, of the services it provides. There are some exemptions from regulation by CQC which relate to 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.

River Aesthetics, the service, provides a range of non-surgical cosmetic interventions, for example, laser hair removal, botulinum toxin injections and dermal fillers which are not within CQC’s scope of registration. Therefore, we did not inspect these services. We inspected those procedures offered by River Aesthetics which are regulated activities, for example, Polydioxanone (PDO) thread lifts, Bio Hormone replacement therapy, intra venous vitamin treatments and BTL 360 femme vaginal tightening treatments.

River Aesthetics Limited is led by the two company directors. Both directors are doctors and one is also the nominated individual and 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.

Both directors/doctors work full time at the service and at the satellite clinic. The satellite clinic is located in London and is open one day a week. Both doctors are registered with the British College of Aesthetic Medicine. There is a further part time doctor working at the Bournemouth location who has an interest in aesthetic medicine. Further staff included a practice manager, an administrative assistant, an aesthetic practioner and three receptionists.

River Aesthetics in Bournemouth is in the town centre. There is parking available in a nearby public car park and a public disabled parking space is available near the location.

Consultations were provided face to face or online. As part of the inspection we looked at patient feedback via an electronic survey system available to patients treated at the service.

At this inspection we found:

• The service had clearly embedded systems, processes and operating procedures to keep patients safe, to manage a safe environment, to manage incidents and significant events and to safeguarded patients from abuse.

• The service monitored the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence based guidelines and that staff had the skills, knowledge and training to provide an effective service.

• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

• The service organised and delivered services to meet patient’s needs. Patients were well informed about aspects of the service provided. The service took complaints and concerns seriously and responded to them appropriately.

• Management had the capacity and skills to deliver high-quality sustainable care. There were clear responsibilities, roles and systems of accountability to support good governance and management. There were effective processes for managing risks, issues and performance. There were systems and processes for learning, continuous improvement and innovation.

The area where the provider should make improvements are:

• The provider should consider further monitoring to ensure all recruitment files contain all the necessary preemployment references.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

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