A clinic has voluntarily removed itself from the Care Quality Commission after a “disappointing” report following an unannounced inspection.
The Sanctum in Cottingham was rated “inadequate” in the report published on June 23. A spokesperson for the clinic said concerns raised by inspectors were promptly addressed and “we remain committed to delivering safe, ethical, and high-quality care to our patients”.
It no longer provides CQC regulated services, such as IV (intravenous) infusions, but still offers beauty treatments such as lip fillers, anti-wrinkle injections, facials, and laser hair removal, which do not require registration with the regulator.
The CQC report claimed one clinical room contained an IV set which clearly stated it was for veterinary use only. “No further information could be provided that this was safe to use in humans,” the report stated.
Another problem raised by inspectors was “no liquid hand soap in the wall dispenser of the minor surgery room”. It said alcohol gel provided on the worktop counter “would not have provided adequate means for effective hand hygiene during clinical treatments”.
The report also claimed inspectors observed a patient receiving an intravenous infusion in an upstairs room “not adequately equipped for clinical use”. It said: “There were no handwashing facilities, no window through which to observe the patient and no emergency buzzer.
“There was no record kept demonstrating that the patient’s health and condition had been monitored, or any observations recorded during the 2.5 hours they were in that room.
“Egress in the event of a fire would have been unmanageable due to the patient’s mobility and the disused black bin bags which partially blocked the fire exits.”
A spokesperson for The Sanctum said: “We take the findings of the CQC report very seriously. The inspection was back in April and we have already taken steps to address the issues raised.
“Since the inspection, The Sanctum has voluntarily withdrawn from offering regulated activities under the CQC framework to focus solely on non-regulated treatments.
This decision allows us to reassess and restructure our clinical operations to ensure the highest standards of safety and compliance going forward.
“While some of the report’s observations were disappointing, many were addressed immediately following the inspection.
“We’ve also initiated a full internal review and are working closely with external advisors to improve protocols and training across all areas of the clinic.
“We remain committed to delivering safe, ethical, and high-quality care to our patients, and we appreciate the public’s interest in holding providers to account. Should we decide to re-register for regulated activities in the future, it will only be once we are fully confident that every necessary standard is met or exceeded.”