Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that patients at Taplow Manor Hospital receive adequate care.

NHS England and the local provider collaboratives are working intensively with Active Care Group to improve the quality of care at the group’s hospitals, including Taplow Manor Hospital. This includes increased scrutiny, surveillance and oversight, such as reviews of incident reports, safety reviews and case manager visits.

Taplow Manor Hospital is currently in special measures and will be kept under close review by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and re-inspected to check sufficient improvements have been made. If on re-inspection, the CQC is still not satisfied with the progress made, it will take further action if necessary to protect the people using this service, including potentially removing the registration of the service.

We will continue to work with the CQC and the National Health Service to ensure all mental health settings are providing the standard of care expected. Neither Ministers nor officials in the Department have met with family members of former patients at the hospital.