Leicester circumcision clinic criticised by inspectors over photos

The service is based at Eastgate House in Leicester

A circumcision clinic failed to protect sensitive images of patients and check staff criminal records, a report says.

The Baby Circumcision Clinic, in Humberstone Road, Leicester, has been rated as 'requires improvement' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

A common practice in Jewish, Islamic and African communities, circumcisions are also carried out on patients with conditions where a foreskin is tight and will not pull back.

The clinic accepted the findings.

A report following a CQC inspection said there were a lack of clear safeguarding systems to "keep people safe and safeguarded from abuse", including a lack of digital safety measures to ensure photos of children's genitalia were not at risk of being leaked.

While all three staff members had undergone Disclosure and Barring Service checks, they had been done at previous employers and should have been resubmitted by Musamedics Ltd, which runs the clinic.

The CQC also reported the clinic had not received a complaint since the service was registered in July 2021, adding it did well in respecting the privacy and dignity of patients.

Muhammad Sahi, a paediatric specialist and lead clinician at the service, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the clinic was looking to make the required improvements immediately.

"All the gaps which were highlighted we will act on and we fully accept what the report says and we have been in contact with the CQC inspector, who was really helpful," he said.

"We can fix these issues with ease and will do so before we are inspected again within a year's time."