Allure Weight Loss

Updated 15 June 2022

The registered provider of the service is Allure Weight Loss Limited. The address that is registered with CQC is The Hayloft, Gawsworth Business Court, Shellow Lane, Congleton, CW12 2NX. More information about the service can be found on their website https://allureweightloss.com.

The service is registered with CQC to provide the regulated activity: Treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

Allure weight loss is an independent provider of a non-surgical medically supervised gastric balloon programme for weight loss management in private (fee-paying) adults aged 18 years and older. This included three types of gastric balloons.

Patients self-refer to the service by completing an online form on the service’s website or by telephone. Patients are not seen at the registered location. The provider has service level agreements in place with private and NHS facilities nationally where patients can receive treatment.

Non-surgical balloon weight loss options are designed for patients where a surgical procedure is unsuitable or not the preferred method of treatment. Patients are screened for suitability for the procedure.

Consultations for medical treatment of weight management are done using video call. Following the assessment and confirmation of suitability for the procedure licensed medicines are prescribed. The provider has an agreement with a private pharmacy to dispense and post medicines out to the patients.

The service employs one patient experience coordinator who provides information to patients. The provider has contracts for consultants who work under practising privileges (permission granted through legislation to work in an independent hospital clinic) to perform the insertion of the balloon. The provider has a service level agreement with bariatric nurses and dietitians to support the patient post procedure. A psychological counsellor is available for an additional fee.

The balloon placement is available from nine locations across the country (Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Derby, Tamworth, Birmingham, Newport, Harley Street and South London). These locations were not part of our inspection.

Appointments with consultants vary and depend on the consultants availability.

How we inspected this service

We carried out this inspection by reviewing information the provider sent us, information we held on the service and information that was available to the general public.

During the inspection we spoke with the management team. We reviewed documents and patient records.

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 15 June 2022

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 Allure Weight Loss on 25 April 2022 as part of our inspection programme.

The service provides non-surgical balloon treatments for weight management to private (fee-paying) patients.

The company 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.

Our key findings were:

• The service had systems and processes in place to manage risk and keep patients safe.
• The service demonstrated they provided an effective service and had systems in place to closely monitor activity and performance.
• Patient feedback about the service was positive.
• The service was responsive to the needs of its patients and was able to offer treatment at various sites across the country.
• The service had expanded since 2020 and the leadership team demonstrated they were able to effectively manage the service.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

• Have a system in place to retain medical records in line with Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) guidance in the event that they cease trading.
• Have a system in place to document the premises and equipment checks had been completed.
• Add the addresses of where the service is delivered to their CQC statement of purpose.

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