The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has extended the suspension of Queens Clinic after an assessment in March 2023 found the proposed oversight of the care it intended to provide for people were still not adequate.
Queens Clinic is a private gynaecological service, run by Mr Ahmed Ismail. It provides private consultations to adults, services offered includes gynaecological diagnostic and minor surgery procedures.
Following this March assessment, as well as the overall inadequate rating, they have again been rated as inadequate for how safe, effective and well-led they are. The ratings for responsive and caring were not inspected and remain rated as good.
After this recent assessment, a decision was made to extend the suspension of registration for another six months until CQC have complete assurance that enough work has been taken to make sure people receive safe care and treatment. This process is still on-going and the provider has the right to appeal.
CQC has also taken further enforcement action, which will be reported on when it is legally able to do so.
Gill Hodgson-Reilly, CQC deputy director of operations in London, said:
“It was concerning to find when we inspected Queens Clinic, that despite the service being suspended so they had time to focus on improvements, leaders still couldn’t demonstrate they had the capacity or skills to deliver the safe, high-quality care needed for people who used the surgery.
“For example, the clinic told us they hadn’t made any changes to their safeguarding policy following breaches in regulation identified at previous inspections. This meant people were still being put at risk and national safeguarding guidelines weren’t being followed. They did tell us they’d looked at introducing a template to assist them with safeguarding referrals, but they didn’t give us that evidence as part of our assessment.
“The clinic told us they knew when concerns should be raised and investigated, and they discussed them with colleagues outside of the service. We were concerned however, there were no recorded details of these discussions and no consent from people using the service that those confidential discussions could take place.
“We were also still unclear which procedures were performed or how consent was obtained, including how risks were explained and information provided to people as these conversations weren’t fully documented. We couldn’t be assured that people had fully consented to treatment carried out.
“This service was still failing to demonstrate they have the ability to deliver care and treatment up to the standards people should be able to expect. This left us with no option but to extend the suspension and take further action which we’ll report on when we’re able to.
“Queens Clinic will continue to be monitored and the suspension will not be lifted until we’re assured that the care and treatment provided are safe and effective. If we return and find there are not enough improvements made, we will not hesitate to take further action even if that means taking steps to cancel their registration.”
Inspectors also found:
- The clinical records system cannot be searched in relation to safety alerts. If there was a warning about a medicine given to a person, the system cannot easily identify the recipients of that medication
- There was still no formal process in place to share information with the person’s GP when their health is potentially at risk
- The provider still wasn't registered for surgical procedures regulated by CQC, and they told us that they would stop any surgical procedures immediately until they have had their registration approved
- There was no service manager in place at either of our previous two inspections. As a result, it was unclear who held the responsibility for the operational management of the clinic.