Damning report hits out at UK weight-loss clinic that secretly filmed clients

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. A damning report from the Care Quality Commission found that Doncaster-based Elements Medical was inadequate in every area it inspected in October, concluding it was “not safe”, “not effective” and “not well led”. “Turkey is also not an approved country for the purposes of supplying medicines for use in England by the Medicines Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.” The report continued: “We also found the provider was using this injection in place of Botox, however, people using the service had not been informed of this. “We saw evidence that vials which were meant for single use only were being shared between multiple patients, which posed a significant infection risk.” The inspectors also said that the firm bought the dilutant Bacteriostatic sodium chloride 0.9% from a website which said: “All products listed on this website are for research purposes only, we do not advocate or advise human use, and any such use is entirely at your own risk.” They pointed to a series of other safety concerns, including obstructed fire exits, “lit candles in clinic and waiting rooms which were unattended for significant periods of time”, unsafely stored oxygen, and a defibrillator with no pads which left it “not usable in the event of an emergency”. “Staff lacked basic knowledge of safeguarding procedures, including how to report concerns, and the service secretly filmed people during treatment without consent.” Mr Stephenson said: “We have told Elements Medical where we expect to see rapid and widespread improvements and will continue to monitor them closely to keep people safe while this happens.