Mock CQC Inspection Toolkit & KLOE Checklist
A half-day self-assessment for aesthetic clinics. Forty-two evidence checks across the five CQC key questions, each mapped to the regulation behind it, with an action log for everything you could not produce.
Why this matters now
Four facts about CQC-registered aesthetic clinics in England, taken from CQC’s own public register and analysed by INTENTIQ in September 2026.
Deregistration happens for many reasons — a clinic closes, restructures, moves, or stops carrying out a regulated activity. It is not in itself a mark of failure. But the pattern is worth sitting with: most registered aesthetic clinics have never been inspected, and most of those that have carry a judgement made nearer 2022 than today.
What’s inside the toolkit
Built from the governance framework we run inside INTENTIQ for CQC-registered clinics, and weighted by where clinics actually lose marks.
42 evidence checks
Not “do you have a policy?” but “what would you put in front of an inspector in the next ten minutes, and would it stand up?” Each check cites the specific regulation behind it.
Weighted where it counts
Twenty-seven of the forty-two checks sit under Safe and Well-led, because those are the two key questions where rated aesthetic clinics fell short — nine of 153 in each. Responsive gets four, and permission to move on.
Action log, no score
Mark each check Evidenced, Partly evidenced or Not evidenced. Everything short of the first goes on a dated action log with a named owner — itself evidence of good governance under Regulation 17.
Structured around the five CQC key questions
A mock inspection tests the same five questions a real inspector asks. Ratings are awarded at this level, which is why the toolkit is organised this way.
What the checks cover
- Emergency drugs, adrenaline availability and anaphylaxis protocol, with dated check logs
- Hyaluronidase stocked and accessible, with a written pathway for managing vascular occlusion
- Fridge temperature logs, named-patient medicine traceability and face-to-face prescribing records
- Sharps handling, clinical waste consignment trail and signed-off cleaning schedules
- Equipment servicing and calibration, including laser and IPL records
- Incident log with documented outcomes, risk register review and local action on MHRA alerts
- Consent with specific risks recorded, cooling-off periods and separate photography consent
- Registered manager, statement of purpose, DBS, indemnity and professional registration re-verification
- Minuted governance meetings, in-date policies, training records and Duty of Candour evidence
- CQC notifications, rating display, and whether anyone other than the owner could find it all
What is changing, and when
Correct as at 21 September 2026
CQC is rebuilding how it assesses. On 19 March 2026 it published four draft sector-specific assessment frameworks for consultation, which closed on 12 June 2026. Three confirmed changes matter to clinic owners:
- Quality statements are being replaced by supporting key lines of enquiry — between three and seven under each key question.
- Scoring is being removed. Ratings will be reached “holistically using the professional judgement of our inspection teams”.
- Ratings will be awarded only at the level of the five key questions, with no formal judgements below that.
Two honest caveats. The drafts were still being piloted as of CQC’s 27 August 2026 update, and no implementation date has been published. CQC has also said it is “actively exploring whether we should change the scope of the frameworks and how many we need”, so exactly which sector framework will cover independent healthcare clinics is not yet settled. Nothing in this toolkit depends on that answer — the five key questions and the 2014 Regulations apply either way.
Run it continuously, not once a year
A toolkit finds your gaps on the day you use it. INTENTIQ keeps the evidence current as the work happens, so the answer is ready whenever it is asked for. This supports inspection readiness and helps you evidence governance — it cannot guarantee a rating, and no software can.