A private clinic specialising in gynaecology services has been suspended from providing care to people following an inspection by Care Quality Commission (CQC), in February.
Regency Clinic, Hackney, faced enforcement action after a CQC inspection identified several serious concerns around the safety of its treatment and equipment.
Following the inspection, the clinic was also rated inadequate and placed in special measures.
The clinic provides services including female genital surgery, trans-cervical fallopian tube unblocking, colposcopy, hysteroscopy and diagnostic ultrasound.
The inspection was carried out to assess whether the clinic had made improvements after it was rated requires improvement by CQC in October.
At that inspection, CQC found the service exposed people to the risk of avoidable harm, leading CQC to suspend its ability to provide care and treatment for eight weeks. This decision was reassessed on 25 April 2022, and CQC decided to suspend the service for another eight weeks as it was not assured adequate improvements had been made.
In addition to being rated inadequate overall following the latest inspection, it was also rated inadequate for being safe and well-led. It was rated requires improvement for being effective and responsive to people’s needs. There was insufficient evidence to rate how caring the service was.
Nicola Wise, CQC’s head of hospital inspection, said:
“On returning to Regency Clinic, we were disappointed to find the service had not improved, and that a deterioration in some areas was putting people at immediate risk of harm.
“It’s unacceptable that resuscitation equipment was not fit for purpose and that there was no one on site with advanced life support training in case of emergency.
“Similarly, a lack of clear guidance on what staff should do in the absence of a healthcare professional or if a patient needed transferring to a nearby hospital would have exposed people to the risk of avoidable harm, had we not suspended the service.
“Although leaders were visible and approachable, they didn’t understand how to prioritise the issues facing the service, which is why we have put it into special measures and suspended it until June 2022.
“If we are not assured the clinic can provide safe care and treatment when we review our decision to suspend it, we will move to close it permanently.”
At the latest inspection, CQC findings included:
- There was no evidence to show weekly checks on resuscitation equipment were carried out
- The suitcase containing resuscitation equipment had damaged and the equipment was contaminated by the dust
- There was no clear guidance about what staff should do in the absence of a healthcare professional and there was no agreement with the local NHS hospital if a patient needed to be transferred
- The service didn’t have a clinician with advanced life support (ALS) training at the time of the inspection
- The service didn’t have a backup generator for equipment, in the event of the loss of power during procedures
- The excessive storage area located between theatres and the recovery area had items piled up high and all over the floor with visible dust on a lot of the equipment. This presented a potential fire hazard and a risk to health and safety
- Oxygen cylinders in the theatre and the recovery room were not stored securely
- There was no process to identify medicines that could be affected by safety alerts
- There was no evidence showing how performance was monitored and recorded to make improvements for those using the service
- There wasn’t a clear pain management policy in place and there was no evidence of pain assessments
- Adjustments offered to meet patients’ individual needs were limited
- Although leaders were visible and approachable for patients and staff, they didn’t understand how to manage the priorities and issues facing the service
- There wasn’t an adequate process to identify or reduce risks
- The clinic’s patient information had not been updated to reflect its current services.
However:
- All staff had completed mandatory training
- There were enough staff to care for patients
- Staff were trained in key skills and understood how to protect patients from abuse
- Patient records were clear, up-to-date and stored securely
- Staff knew how to report incidents, and staff appraisals were carried out to ensure they were competent for their roles
- Patient feedback showed staff treated them with compassion and kindness
- Staff felt respected, supported and valued
- Leaders engaged with patients and staff.
Full details of the inspection are given in the report published on our website.
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