Clinical Governance

1. What is clinical governance?

Clinical governance is the framework through which healthcare organisations are accountable for continuously improving the quality of their services and safeguarding high standards of care. It encompasses everything from how we recruit and credential our clinicians, to how we learn from incidents, audit our outcomes, and respond to patient feedback.

Clinical governance at AtWell is not a compliance exercise — it is how we ensure every patient receives care that is safe, evidence-based, and respectful of their individual needs and preferences.

2. Our governance framework

Our governance structure is built on six interconnected pillars. Together, they form a continuous cycle of assurance, learning, and improvement.

Clinical leadership

AtWell Clinic is led by a named Clinical Lead who holds overall responsibility for the clinical governance framework. The Clinical Lead is a registered medical practitioner with experience in general practice and private healthcare. They are responsible for:

• Setting and maintaining clinical standards across all services
• Oversight of clinical policies, protocols, and guidelines
• Leading the clinic’s response to significant incidents and complaints
• Ensuring all clinical staff maintain appropriate registration and revalidation
• Acting as the named clinician for CQC registration purposes

Clinical audit

We carry out regular clinical audits to measure the quality of care we provide against established standards and guidelines. Our audit programme covers:

• Prescribing practices — adherence to prescribing guidelines, appropriate use of antibiotics, and controlled drug management
• Referral appropriateness — reviewing whether referrals to secondary care are timely and clinically justified
• Documentation standards — ensuring clinical records are accurate, complete, and meet medico-legal requirements
• Patient outcomes — tracking outcomes where measurable to identify areas for improvement
• Infection prevention — audit of hand hygiene, equipment sterilisation, and clinical environment standards

Audit findings are reviewed by the Clinical Lead. Where deficiencies are identified, we implement change and re-audit to confirm improvement — completing the audit cycle.

Risk management

We maintain a clinical risk register that is reviewed quarterly by the Clinical Lead. Risks are assessed for likelihood and potential impact, and mitigating controls are put in place and monitored. Our risk management approach includes:

• A significant event analysis (SEA) process for any near-miss or clinical incident, with documented learning
• Medication safety protocols and procedures for managing high-risk drugs
• Emergency procedures and first aid equipment, maintained and checked at regular intervals
• Appropriate clinical indemnity insurance held by all practising clinicians
• Business continuity planning to ensure patient care is not disrupted by operational issues

Patient safety

Patient safety is the foundation of everything we do. Our safety systems include:

• Consent processes — structured, documented informed consent for all clinical interventions, in line with the Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board (2015) ruling
• Safeguarding — a dedicated safeguarding policy and named Safeguarding Lead. See our Safeguarding Policy for full details
• Identity verification — patient identity is confirmed at every appointment
• Allergy and medication checks — structured checks at every consultation involving prescribing
• NHS referral pathways — robust escalation pathways to NHS urgent and emergency services where required
• Chaperone policy — a trained chaperone is available for any intimate or sensitive examination

Staff training and competency

All clinical staff at AtWell Clinic are required to:

• Hold current registration with the appropriate regulatory body (GMC, HCPC, NMC)
• Maintain up-to-date mandatory training, including safeguarding, basic life support, infection control, and information governance
• Participate in annual appraisal and revalidation in line with regulatory requirements
• Hold a current Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate at the appropriate level for their role
• Carry appropriate professional indemnity insurance

Non-clinical staff receive training appropriate to their role, including information governance, safeguarding awareness, and fire safety.

Evidence-based care

Our clinicians practise in accordance with current evidence and nationally recognised guidelines, including those published by:

• The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
• The British National Formulary (BNF)
• Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) guidelines
• The General Medical Council (GMC) Good Medical Practice framework

Where emerging evidence or clinical complexity requires specialist opinion, we have established referral pathways to NHS and private secondary care. We do not over-investigate or over-treat — our aim is the right care, at the right time, for the right reason.

3. Complaints & feedback

We take all feedback seriously — positive or negative. If you are unhappy with any aspect of the care or service you have received, we want to hear from you.

How to raise a complaint

1. In the first instance, please contact us at hello@wellclinics.co.uk or by telephone on 01676 545111. Most concerns can be resolved quickly and informally at this stage.
2. Formal written complaint — if you prefer to make a formal complaint, please write to us at AtWell Clinic, 164 Station Road, Balsall Common, CV7 7FD, or email us marked “Formal Complaint”.
3. We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and aim to provide a full response within 20 working days. Where a more complex investigation is required, we will keep you informed of progress.

All complaints are logged, investigated, and reviewed by the Clinical Lead. Learning from complaints is fed back into our clinical governance process and, where appropriate, shared with the team.

Independent review

If you remain dissatisfied after exhausting our internal complaints process, you have the right to contact:

• The Care Quality Commission (CQC) — the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. CQC does not investigate individual complaints, but takes concerns about registered providers into account in its regulatory work.
  Website: cqc.org.uk/give-feedback-on-care
• The General Medical Council (GMC) — for concerns about the conduct or fitness to practise of a registered doctor.
  Website: gmc-uk.org/concerns
• The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) — for concerns about a registered allied health professional or advanced clinical practitioner.
  Website: hcpc-uk.org/concerns

4. Regulatory status

Care Quality Commission (CQC)

AtWell Clinic is operated by MRL Health Ltd (company number 16582187). We are currently completing our application for registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as a provider of regulated activities, specifically “Treatment of disease, disorder or injury”.

CQC registration is legally required before we provide regulated activities to the public. We are engaged in the formal registration process and will publish our CQC provider registration number on this page upon confirmation. Until CQC registration is confirmed, we continue to operate in line with CQC Fundamental Standards and the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

Clinician registration

All clinicians working at AtWell Clinic hold current registration with the appropriate regulatory body:

• Medical doctors (GPs) — registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) and included on the GP Register. All GPs hold a licence to practise and are subject to five-yearly revalidation.
• Advanced Nurse Practitioners / Advanced Clinical Practitioners — registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) or the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as appropriate.
• Other registered healthcare professionals — registered with the relevant professional body for their discipline.

Registration status for individual clinicians can be verified through the relevant body’s public registers: GMC Medical Register, HCPC Register.

Information governance

We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a data controller. Our ICO registration number is ZC111341. Please see our Privacy Policy for full details of how we handle your personal and health data.

5. Governance enquiries

If you have a question about our clinical governance arrangements, wish to request a copy of a specific policy, or wish to raise a concern, please contact:

Clinical Lead — AtWell Clinic (MRL Health Ltd)
164 Station Road, Balsall Common, CV7 7FD
Email: hello@wellclinics.co.uk
Telephone: 01676 545111

We are committed to transparency and will respond to governance enquiries promptly.