NHS ombudsman criticises CQC for failing to fully investigate boy’s death
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Exclusive: Care Quality Commission did not act on evidence casting doubt on care provider’s version of events, ruling says. The NHS ombudsman has criticised the service’s care regulator for failing to properly investigate the death of a five-year-old boy in a specialist unit.
The boy’s foster mother – an NHS doctor – has accused the care provider that looked after him of instigating “a cover-up” of how he died and frustrating her efforts to get to the truth. The ombudsman has criticised the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for failing to act on evidence that emerged at the inquest into the boy’s death that cast doubt on the trust’s version of events.
The ruling by Rebecca Hilsenrath, the ombudsman, is another blow to the credibility of the CQC, which the health secretary, Wes Streeting, in July declared to be “not fit for purpose”. The case shows that the various regulators that monitor the health sector need to ensure that when mistakes are made the care provider displays transparency and accountability, Hilsenrath said.
The ombudsman did not name the boy. He had neurodisabilities and lived in Sheffield with his foster parents, who had looked after him since he was six months old. He was found dead in his cot one morning in May 2017, six weeks into a stay at a specialist residential children’s home in Tadworth, Surrey, run by the Children’s Trust, a charity.
