The police in The Hague report that they have received at least 80 complaints of malpractice at a private cosmetic surgery clinic. The cases are being investigated to establish whether the clinic, CityKliniek, should face charges of grievous bodily harm.

A police spokeswoman said the police would be interviewing all those who have lodged complaints before deciding whether to bring charges.
 

The Health Care Inspectorate closed down the clinic more than a week ago after complaints that it had breached hygiene regulations. The clinic’s operating theatre was reportedly next door to a toilet, medical material such as implants were used despite damage to the packaging, and there were no facilities for sterilising equipment.
 

The complaints about the clinic were flagged to the Health Care Inspectorate by the Netherlands Plastic Surgery Association. They included reports of severe wound infections, wrongly introduced breast implants, and inadequate aftercare.
 

The clinic’s surgeon, gynaecologist Rock Goerdin, was said to lack adequate knowledge of the relevant hygiene regulations, ANP reports. The clinic had no protocols in place to deal with bacteria such as MRSA or Legionella. Dr Goerdin has been provisionally barred from practicing in the Netherlands. He has also been barred on similar grounds in Belgium. Trained in the Netherlands, he has also practiced in the United Kingdom.
 

Dr Goerdin describes himself as an expert in breast surgery and the pioneer of “aesthetic genital surgery”. He also previously specialised in reparatory surgery on victims of female genital mutilation. He billed the CityKliniek as a “people’s clinic” offering easily available cosmetic surgery to a wide public.