We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at the above provider on 11 October 2018 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.

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.

The Sheffield Clinic is a small independent sector healthcare provider that provides minor skin surgery and procedures such as laser hair removal, skin tightening and Laserlipolysis (with or without aspiration). The clinic is located within Sloan Medical Centre and shares their facilities. The service consists of two general practitioners and one laser therapist who offer an initial patient consultation, minor cosmetic procedures or laser treatment and post-operative care and support to self funding patients. The provider is registered with the Care Quality Comission to provide diagnostic and screening, surgical services and the treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

Feedback obtained speaking with patients during the inspection was excellent. We did not receive any comment cards however we spoke to five patients on the day of inspection.

Our key findings were:

• There was a framework in place which supported the delivery of quality care.
• There was good clinical leadership within the service which was supported by an administrative team.
• Clinicians were committed to delivering quality care.
• The provider encouraged patient feedback which was positive about the staff and the service they received.
• Before patients received any care or treatment they were asked for their consent and the doctors acted in accordance with their wishes. Patients said they were informed of the treatments and associated risks and they were given time to consider these.

Before people received any care or treatment they were asked for their consent and the provider acted in accordance with their wishes.

People who used the service told us they were happy with the care and treatment they received at the clinic. One person told us " Brilliant, always got the appointment I wanted and the after care, it was really stress free and a professional process. Good professional manner, talks through what’s going on, really clear process. Safety first with them. Really nice and friendly [staff], very amiable made me feel at ease never been any problem. Happy with care.”

People who used the service were protected from the risk of abuse because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening. People we spoke with said that they felt safe and supported by the staff.

People were cared for by staff who were supported to deliver care and treatment safely and to an appropriate standard.

The provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people receive.

Each person we spoke with who used the service told us the staff were friendly and polite. One person said, "when I went to the reception at the Sloan Medical Centre, the doctor (from Sheffield Clinic) came down and met with me at reception. I was also given a direct number to call if there were any problems, which was reassuring.”

People who used the service told us they were happy with the care and treatment they received at the clinic. One person told us "they are very good, the nature of the doctor relaxes me and they talk through everything.”

People we spoke with told us the clinic was always clean and tidy. One person we spoke with said, “very clean, a bit cold (in the room) but very clean."

The provider had a satisfactory recruitment and selection procedure in place to ensure that staff were appropriately employed.

The provider had a system in place to deal with comments and complaints. People who used the service could be confident that their comments and complaints were listened to.