CQC criticised for failing to properly investigate death of five-year-old

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.

- Denis Campbell

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 care provider'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 said was "not fit for purpose".

The case shows that health sector regulators need to ensure transparency and accountability when care providers make mistakes, she said.

The ombudsman did not name the boy, who had neuro-disabilities 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 charity.

He had been doing well and had no major underlying physical or medical concerns. At first the CQC believed that his death had been natural, based on what the charity had told them.