Ensure your clinic is ready

Ensure all your patient-facing staff are trained in the basics of weight management, your service and the treatments you are offering. Every interaction in your clinic is important. Ensure your staff are appropriately trained to deliver a positive patient experience.

Research indicates that patients with excess weight feel stigmatised in many areas of their life including healthcare settings. The language you use, and your environment are two key components to a successful weight management clinic. For successful interactions with your patients, it is important to consider the equipment you use, the tools and resources you offer, and the procedures you undertake.

For example, think about the equipment you include in your waiting area. Do your chairs have arm rests? If so are they large enough to support all of your patients no matter their size? Consider replacing them with chairs without armrests. What reading material do you provide? Is it health focused? Do you have material that shows body as well as facial treatment options? And finally consider your mirrors – do you have full length body mirrors or only facial focused mirrors?

Next think about the equipment in the consultation room. Make sure you have body weight scales, a height chart and a tape measure easily accessible.

For patient education and support resources you should have a BMI chart, awareness leaflets and other patient support materials available both in the consultation room and potentially in the waiting room also.

Finally depending what procedures you offer in your weight management programme you will need to have access to treatment protocols, education on how the patient can use any medication and potentially the ability to refer patients to other healthcare professionals when required. Information on the medication should always be available from the manufacturers website or customer service line, or the European Medicines Agency website.

Regulations and Insurance

In England, unlike general practice and dental clinics, medical aesthetics clinics are not automatically required to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). However, CQC registration and inspection is a requirement when a healthcare professional working within a provider performs or supervises any ‘regulated activities’. Some examples of ‘regulated activities’ are: treatment of disease, disorder or injury, surgical procedures, diagnostic and screening procedures, services in slimming clinics. If your clinic is not CQC registered please consult the CQC website for more information. For other regions please consult your local regulatory body to determine if your clinic should be regulated before offering a weight management programme.

Many insurers offer cover for weight management. Consult your policy provider when setting up your weight management programme to determine whether weight management is already included in your policy.