The Leger Clinic

Updated 8 April 2022

The provider, which is the Leger Clinic Limited, is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide regulated activities, treatment of disease, disorder or injury at the Leger Clinic, St Vincent Medical Centre, 77 Thorne Road, Doncaster, DN1 2ET. The clinic holds a list of registered patients who are either referred to the service or contact the provider directly to register as a private patient. The clinic is available to patients who reside in Doncaster and surrounding areas and to patients who live in other areas of England who require the services. The clinic does not see people under the age of 18.

The clinic has a team of four GPs with specialisms, a senior psychosexual therapist who leads a team of three psychosexual therapists, a service manager, admin support and shared reception staff at Saint Vincent’s Medical Centre.

The service is based just outside of Doncaster town centre within St Vincent Medical Centre. The clinic has a shared reception area within the medical centre on the ground floor and a shared waiting room and a consulting room on the lower ground floor. There is a lift offering access to people with mobility difficulties. There is free on-road parking on all surrounding streets.

The reception opening hours for patient enquiries are Monday to Friday 8.00am to 5.00pm. The GPs normally hold clinics on the following days: -

Monday 9.00am-3.00pm

Tuesday 9.00am – 5.00pm

Wednesday 10.00am – 2.00pm

Friday 10.00am – 12.00pm

Thursday and Saturday – appointments maybe offered upon patient need.

How we inspected this service

Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, considering the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently.

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.

This included:

• Conducting an interview with the registered manager and service manager using video conferencing.
• Staff completing interview templates.
• Requesting evidence including documents relating to the management of the service from the provider prior to the inspection.
• Reviewing patient feedback received by the provider.
• Speaking with patients by telephone.
• A short site visit.

The provider is not required to offer an out of hours service. Patients who need emergency medical assistance out of the clinic opening hours are requested to seek assistance from alternative services such as their own GP, the NHS 111 telephone service or accident and emergency.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?
• Is it effective?
• Is it caring?
• Is it responsive to people’s needs?
• Is it well-led?

These questions therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection

Updated 8 April 2022

This service is rated as Outstanding overall.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Outstanding

Are services well-led? – Outstanding

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at the Leger Clinic on the 2 March 2022 as part of our inspection programme. The service was previously inspected in November 2017, but not rated.

The Ledger Clinic is an independent organisation which provides services to NHS patients under a contract with Doncaster Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Bassetlaw CCG. The clinic also offers appointments to private patients. The service offers assessment and treatment for patients suffering from a wide variety of sexual difficulties and testosterone deficiency. This service is supported with lifestyle advice.

Dr Savage 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.

Our key findings were:

• The provider protected patients from abuse and avoidable harm. They had systems and processes for monitoring and managing risk.
• There was a strong focus on providing care, treatment and support to achieve good outcomes for patients based on the best available evidence.
• There was a strong, visible person-centred culture. The lead GP was motivated, passionate and inspired to offer care that was kind, accessible and respectful. We received feedback from staff who were committed and enthusiastic to improving patients’ lives. We reviewed 80 positive patient feedback forms, they said the care and support exceeded their expectations. The provider would go an extra mile to meet patient’s needs. Patients said they had got their lives back and their quality of life had improved.
• There were proactive approaches for patients to access services at a time that suits them, ensured flexibility, choice and continuity of care. The provider had significantly reduced the consultation prices during the pandemic to ensure the service was accessible. The clinic offered appointments on extra days to meet patient’s needs. Patients had direct access to a GP by telephone and enquiries were responded to within 48 hours. 80 patient feedback forms were all highly positive about the service they received and confirmed it was quick and flexible.
• Leadership and culture were used to drive and improve the delivery of high-quality person-centred care. Leaders worked closely with staff and others to make sure they prioritised compassionate and inclusive leadership. Staff said they worked well as a team, supported and they had a common focus on improving the quality and sustainability of care and people’s experiences. Staff told us the provider was dedicated to providing an exceptional service for patients. The service had a strong focus on the needs of patients. All the patient feedback was positive, and they spoke highly of the service.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care