A private gynaecology clinic has been suspended from treating patients after a report found that customers were not protected from abuse or neglect.
Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found a lack of systems in place to assess and manage risks to patient safety at the Queen’s Clinic on Wimpole Street, Marylebone.
Its report said: ‘The service did not use quality and operational information to ensure and improve performance. There were no clear mechanisms whereby quality and sustainability could be discussed.’
The inspection also found that the practice was employing substantially less professionals despite looking a similar customer base, with just one health care assistant and a receptionist found on site.
Through talking to staff, inspectors found that the clinic did not follow its own policy with regards to female genital mutilation.
The Queen’s Clinic, which charges £290 for a consultation, was rated as ‘inadequate’ overall for the second consecutive time by the CQC. A previous inspection in September 2022 found a lack of effective leadership and procedures in place.
But the latest report concluded that the practice had ‘not taken steps to address this concern’ while several other breaches of regulations were noted.
The clinic’s owner, Dr Ahmed Ismail, was also last year cleared of wrongdoing after he was accused by a female patient of having given her a full vagina and breast examination instead of just the consultation she requested.
Staff had a lack of information needed to deliver safe care to patients, with records in some cases failing to show what protocols were followed for giving treatment, the report said.
Other findings in the CQC report included a lack of data sharing with GPs and searchable database in the event of a safety alert.
Although there were ‘reliable’ systems in place for ensuring safe handling of medicines, records showed lack of evidence of rationale behind some decisons to proscribe medication.
In one case, a patient was given misoprostol – a medicine used by pregnant women – without clear rationale and on the basis of conflicting information.
The report continued: ‘The provider did not have systems to keep clinicians up to date with current evidence-based practice. We saw evidence that clinicians did not assess needs and delivered care and treatment in line with current legislation, standards and guidance.’
Another patient who had visited the practice five times within 11 days was given an ultrasound test at each visit without rationale.
Antoinette Smith, the CQC’s deputy director of operations in London, said: ‘It was disappointing to find that the same level of poor care has remained at Queens Clinic since our last inspection.
‘We found the same inadequate leadership that had still not taken action to address our serious concerns around people’s safety and the quality of the care being provided. This is why we have taken urgent action to suspend the service to keep people safe from harm.’
She added: ‘This service failed to deliver care and treatment up to the standards people should be able to accept, which left us with no option but to use our enforcement powers and suspend them from operating.
‘We will continue to monitor Queens Clinic and won’t lift our suspension until we’re assured that their 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.’
But Queen’s Clinic disputed the ‘accuracy and proportionality’ of some of the report’s findings.
As spokesperson for the practice said: ‘We are fully committed to providing a high standard of good quality, safe and effective care at all times for our patients and to ensuring that any possible risks are suitably mitigated. The health and safety of our patients continues to be our utmost priority.
‘We dispute the accuracy and proportionality of some of the CQC’s findings and we maintain that this inspection report does not fairly reflect the current compliance at the clinic. We are currently taking the appropriate legal action to challenge the CQC’s findings and their decisions.
‘As this matter is subject to ongoing proceedings with the CQC, we are unable to comment any further at this time.’