A private cosmetic clinic in West Kensington has had its suspension extended by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for a further eight weeks, after an inspection in April found the care it provided to people had not improved.
London Surgical Suites, registered under the name Eyesurge London, was first suspended following an inspection in February and March, when the CQC rated it inadequate and placed it in special measures.
The latest inspection did not rate the service, which provides a range of cosmetic and ophthalmic procedures to its clients, as it was carried out to assess whether previous concerns about the safety of the service had been addressed.
CQC found many of the issues had not been resolved, including those regarding the safety of the premises and equipment, and assurances of staff competency.
This led CQC to extending the service’s suspension.
CQC will not allow the service to provide care and treatment to patients until it is assured it can meet standards of quality and safety that people have a right to expect.
The service’s inadequate rating still applies following the latest inspection.
Zoe Robinson, CQC head of hospital inspection, said:
“London Surgical Suites remains suspended as it isn’t taking the right steps to provide standards of safe care and treatment that people should be able to expect.
“We found national guidance wasn’t always followed and medicines were not well managed, putting people at unnecessary risk of harm.
“Managers didn’t ensure staff had the right skills to keep people safe and the lack of effective leadership meant that issues weren’t identified and prioritised.
“As a result of our findings, we have suspended the service for another eight weeks. We will not allow it to reopen until we are assured it is taking all reasonable steps to ensure patient safety.”
The inspection found that:
- The service was not able to provide care and treatment to people that was based on national guidance and evidence-based practice.
- Not all areas were kept clean, and infection risks were not controlled well.
- Hazardous cleaning materials were not locked away securely.
- The safe disposal of clinical waste was not in line with national guidance.
- Medicines weren’t managed safely. The storage and availability of medicines was posing a risk to people.
- The service couldn’t be certain that staff had the necessary skills, training and experience to meet people’s needs. There was limited information to confirm staff had all the documentation required to work at the service, including disclosure and barring service (DBS) checks and photographic identification.
- Managers did not monitor the effectiveness of the service.
- Leaders didn’t understand and manage the priorities and issues the service faced.
- Leaders didn’t have effective governance processes to identify risks and issues.
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