Bearwood Cosmetic Clinic used 'soiled and rusty' equipment

Inspectors found fat removed during liposuction at the clinic was not disposed of properly

A cosmetic surgery clinic was forced to close when inspectors found it using rusty surgical tools and potentially lethal doses of anaesthetic.

Bearwood Cosmetic Clinic was found to employ staff with insufficient training for procedures, including a dental nurse who assisted with liposuction.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published its report into the 2018 inspection of the Smethwick clinic.

It removed the "unsafe" surgery's licence and has since closed.

Inspectors reported a number of areas of significant concern, including "visibly dirty" surgical equipment "soiled with malodorous bodily fluids and rust", sterilising equipment that was visibly dirty and holes in the theatre walls.

The registered manager, who said he received two days' liposuction training from the machine's manufacturer, was found to administer anaesthetic in a higher dose than recommended.

He would then give patients a reversal agent which is only recommended for emergency use, the report said.

He told inspectors this was to "wake them up" as if he did not they would sleep in theatre for 10 hours.

Surgical equipment was found to be "visibly dirty" and had a "foul smell"

The CQC said this posed a serious risk to patients' lives and was used on every patient - several of whom were recorded as drowsy and unable to walk after their procedures.

"The doctor did not understand why we were concerned about any of these issues," the CQC report reads.

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The findings prompted chief inspector of hospitals, Ted Baker, to write to providers across the country raising particular concern regarding the use of anaesthetic during liposuction.

The CQC cancelled Bearwood Cosmetic Clinic's licence within two days of the inspection on 29 November 2018 due to the "serious and significant risks" it identified.

It advised clients to thoroughly research providers before making appointments.