Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Care Quality Commission plans to inspect medical care services at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.

It is not usual practice for the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to announce when inspections will take place.

Unannounced inspections of healthcare services allow the CQC to obtain a realistic view of how the service is operating. It also allows the CQC to observe normal practice and assess more accurately the quality of care being provided. While most inspections are unannounced, some services may receive notice to minimize disruption to care.

The CQC can also inspect at any time in response to risk.