Skin Doctor Manchester

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 Skin Doctor Manchester as this service had been registered in December 2020 and had not yet been inspected.

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. Skin Doctor Manchester provides a range of non-surgical cosmetic interventions, for example lip fillers, facials and anti-wrinkle treatments which are not within CQC scope of registration. Therefore, we did not inspect or report on these services.

The service manager is 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:

• We found that system and processes in place to manage risk were generally working well and were up to date. We identified one minor area of risk that had not been fully considered by the provider and one area of risk management that was not working as intended; they told us that they would address these immediately.
• We found that staffing arrangements were in place and working well. Clinical guidance was being used to provide an effective service. Although there were areas of quality improvement activity that required further development, the provider was quick to adopt solutions to these.
• We found that the provider had systems in place to consider and proactively collect feedback to ensure service delivery was in line with client expectations, making adjustments where necessary. Furthermore, we found that staff treated clients with kindness, respect and compassion in their interactions and in the way the service was designed.
• We found that the provider had considered client feedback in relation to access to care and treatment and made adjustments where necessary. The provider demonstrated that client feedback was generally positive about their services.
• We found that systems and processes were in place to ensure the effective and safe running and delivery of services to clients. We also found where improvements were needed, the systems in place provided the service with the flexibility required to address these. Leaders were articulate and knowledgeable about the service, the challenges and achievements of their staff and the service overall.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Ensure that appropriate consideration of risk is completed in relation to the use or lack of recommended emergency equipment.
• Establish a protocol for informing clients GPs of treatments and a business continuity plan outlining what happens if the business were to cease trading.
• Review arrangements for checking fridge temperatures to ensure they are working as intended.
• Consider ways to benchmark performance to ensure the highest standards are maintained.

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