We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 2 November 2017 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 effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found that this service was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

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

Are services well-led?

We found that this service was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

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.

Private GP Clinic provide private healthcare services, including private GP services, health checks, ear wax removal and aesthetic treatments. There are two GPs (one male, one female) and a visiting GP who specialised in minor surgery. One GP is also the medical director. Private GP Clinic is also supported by a health care practitioner, laser practitioner, director/registered manager, office manager and reception/administration staff. The service is provided from the second floor of the West Byfleet Health Centre, which is a purpose built health care building. The service has two consulting rooms, one treatment room and administrative areas. Services are offered Monday to Friday 9am to 5.30pm and alternate Saturdays 9am to 1pm. The Private GP Clinic provides services to adults and children under 18.

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 service and these are set out in Schedule 2 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. At Private GP Clinic the aesthetic cosmetic treatments that are also provided are exempt by law from CQC regulation. Therefore we were only able to inspect the treatment for private GP services and minor surgery but not the aesthetic cosmetic services.

On the day of inspection it was not entirely clear from the provider’s website what services it actually offered as the website was also promoting a number of other services that run from the same address. Since the inspection the provider has removed references to all services that they do not provide themselves.

The non medical director 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.

As part of our inspection we also asked for CQC comment cards to be completed by patients prior to our inspection. We received 38 comment cards which were all positive about the standard of care received. Patients told us that they were treated professionally in a caring manner.

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 practice 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 research or guidelines.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• There was a strong focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

There was one area where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Review protocols and procedures