• Doctor
  • Independent doctor

Victoria Road Medical Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

229 Victoria Road, Aston, Birmingham, B6 5HP (0121) 328 0359

Provided and run by:
Birmingham Circumcision Services

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 31 March 2023

Birmingham Circumcision Services is the registered provider of the circumcision service.

The service is located in the Aston area of Birmingham at 229 Victoria Road, Aston, Birmingham, B6 5HP. More information about the service can be found on their website www.birminghamcircumcisionservices.co.uk.

The service is located in a health centre close to the City Centre of Birmingham. There are good public transport links and car parking is available.

The service provides circumcision to fee-paying patients. The service provides circumcision to children and adults for medical, cultural and religious reasons under local anaesthetic.

The majority of circumcisions carried out by the service are on children under one year of age. The provider gave us data that showed between February 2022 and March 2023, of the circumcisions that had been carried out by the service, 81% had been on children under 1 year old, 8% were carried out on 1 to 5 years olds and 11% of all procedures were on people aged 5 years or older.

The plastic surgeon assesses the patient and decides the best method of circumcision in discussion with the patient/parents/carers. This either involves using a Plastibell (ring) (mostly under the age of two years) or a cut and stitch method.

The circumcision service has access to one minor operating room on the ground floor, a waiting area and a recovery room within the health centre. There are baby changing and feeding facilities available.

The service is registered with Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide the following regulated activities: Surgical procedures.

The service is open Monday to Friday between 9am and 7.30pm to take telephone bookings.

The service is open on weekends between 9am and 5pm, dependent on service bookings.

The clinical team includes a plastic surgeon and a GP (both male). They are supported by a service manager and a receptionist/administrator.

Patients can book an appointment by telephoning the service.

The service provides 24 hours telephone cover for post-operative support. Staff explain to people when aftercare information is given, if it is an emergency they need to attend accident and emergency (A&E).

How we inspected this service

Before the inspection we reviewed any existing information we held on the service and the information the provider returned to us.

During the inspection we interviewed staff, reviewed patient records, made observations of the premises and reviewed documents.

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.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 31 March 2023

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 Victoria Road Medical Centre (also known as Birmingham Circumcision Service) on 25 February 2023 as part of our inspection programme and to provide a rating for the service.

The service had never been inspected or rated previously.

The service provides circumcision to children and adults for therapeutic and non-therapeutic reasons. The service is offered on a private, fee paying basis only, and is accessible to people who choose to use it.

This service is registered with CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of the provision of surgical procedures.

The service had a 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 had developed appropriate policies and processes to keep people safe from harm. We saw that policies were followed as intended and treatment was provided in a way that kept patients safe.
  • Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
  • A plastic surgeon with over 40 years’ experience, carried out the circumcision procedure.
  • The provider carried out clinical audits and requested patient/parent feedback to monitor the effectiveness of the service.
  • Staff dealt with patients/parents with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
  • From patient/parent feedback we viewed, we saw that patient/parents/carers were extremely positive about the service and would recommend the service to their friends and family.
  • Clinicians consulted with the child (where appropriate) to obtain their consent to the procedure as well as consent from both parents/carers.
  • The service organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs. Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
  • The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Hospitals and Interim Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services