AL Aesthetics

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 AL Aesthetics on 14 March 2023 as part of our inspection programme.

This is the first time this service has been inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following its registration as a new service in August 2020.

AL Aesthetics is a private clinic in the West Midlands. The service provides consultations and treatment for minor surgery (removals of lipoma, moles, skin tags), and Botox for migraines and hyperhidrosis (excess sweating).

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 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. AL Aesthetics provides a range of non-surgical cosmetic interventions, for example facial rejuvenation, anti-wrinkle treatments and non-surgical rhinoplasty, which are not within CQC scope of registration. Therefore, we did not inspect or report on these services.

The service manager was also 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 provider had produced policies and processes to keep patients safe, however, not all policies were comprehensive or fully embedded.
• Clinicians collected and assessed relevant medical information before making a decision on what treatment to offer.
• Patients had enough time to review information before making a decision about whether to proceed with treatment.
• The provider had systems in place to monitor performance and to improve the quality of services delivered.
• Patient feedback we viewed was positive about the service.
• Patients were able to get an appointment or access the clinic for aftercare advice in a timely manner.
• We found that not all governance systems were robust and although the provider had taken action to mitigate risks, systems in place did not allow the provider to identity and manage all potential risks.

The areas 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

(Please see the specific details on action required at the end of this report).

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Improve the safeguarding policy to include training requirements and include information on what to do if staff have a concern about a child.
• Take action to formally assess how accessible the service is and take relevant action, so that anyone wishing to use the service can access it on an equal basis to others.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

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