Running a healthcare or surgical clinic means balancing clinical excellence with regulatory responsibility. Yet even the most experienced teams can face real-world challenges that put their Care Quality Commission (CQC) compliance at risk. At BAXCQC, we’ve worked with a wide range of clinics—both NHS and independent—to identify the most common issues that can trigger CQC concern and, more importantly, how to fix them before they escalate.
Many clinics fall short under Regulation 17 – Good Governance, which requires providers to have “systems or processes that ensure compliance with the requirements of the fundamental standards.”
Too often, providers rely on outdated audits, inconsistent risk registers, or lack of evidence to demonstrate how learning translates into improvement.
Our advice: Implement a structured governance framework with regular audits, clear ownership for actions, and evidence of review cycles. Use tools such as the BAXCQC Compliance Platform to track improvements across all five key questions and 34 Quality Statements.
Under Regulation 18 – Staffing, the CQC expects providers to ensure “sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced persons.”
Clinics often struggle to keep up with training records or to evidence role-specific competencies, especially for locum or part-time staff.
Our advice: Maintain a live training matrix and ensure that induction, mandatory, and role-specific training are documented and updated. Regular supervision logs can also demonstrate effective oversight.
For surgical and healthcare clinics, IPC is a common area of concern. Regulation 12 – Safe Care and Treatment requires providers to ensure that “care and treatment is provided in a safe way,” including proper infection control systems.
Our advice: Conduct quarterly IPC audits and document cleaning schedules, staff training, and any remedial actions. Remember—your environment must support aseptic practice, and the CQC will want to see evidence that safety is embedded into daily operations.
Regulation 11 – Need for Consent and Regulation 10 – Dignity and Respect are cited in inspection reports, especially in aesthetic and surgical settings where procedures are elective.
Our advice: Ensure patients understand all risks, benefits, and alternatives, and that consent forms are regularly reviewed and signed. Maintain strict privacy measures in both consultation and procedure areas.
CQC inspectors look for evidence that learning and improvement are embedded. This relates again to Regulation 17, which expects providers to “evaluate and improve their practice.”
Our advice: Record outcomes of meetings, lessons learned from complaints, and improvements made as a result. Show that feedback—positive or negative—drives tangible change in your clinic.
At BAXCQC, we help healthcare and surgical clinics take control of their CQC compliance through practical tools, on-site reviews, and digital audit systems that align directly with the CQC’s Assessment Framework.
Whether you need support preparing for an inspection, conducting a baseline assessment, or closing identified gaps, our experts can help you stay inspection-ready year-round.