CQC commissions review into regulation of Whorlton Hall

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has commissioned David Noble to undertake an independent review into how it dealt with concerns raised by a former inspector in relation to the regulation of Whorlton Hall.

Following the BBC Panorama investigation, which showed patients with learning disabilities and complex needs being physically and psychologically abused, whistleblower Barry Stanley-Wilkinson said he wrote a report on the hospital that was never published.

In response, the CQC has decided to launch a review that will focus on concerns raised about the draft report prepared in 2015, and how they were addressed internally.

The regulator is also commissioning a wider review of Whorlton Hall, near Barnard Castle in County Durham, between 2015 and 2019, which will include recommendations for how its regulation of similar services can be improved.

Originally operated by Castlebeck, Whorlton Hall became part of Cygnet Healthcare at the beginning of this year under its acquisition of Danshell Group and was rated ‘good’ in 2017.