Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of safety levels at Castle Hill Hospital.

The Department recently sought information from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) regarding their regulatory oversight of Castle Hill Hospital. The CQC last inspected Castle Hill Hospital in November 2022, where it was rated as Requires Improvement overall. The full inspection report and detail are available at the following link:

https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/RWA16

Castle Hill Hospital is part of the Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The trust is subject to enhanced surveillance and attends a monthly Quality Improvement Board chaired by NHS England, which the CQC also attends. The trust’s action plan is monitored by the Board.

The trust was told by the CQC to take several actions to ensure that clinical care and treatment across the trust was delivered safely and in accordance with national guidance. The CQC continues to monitor the trust to ensure required improvements are made.

In light of the police investigation and the completion of three external reviews into the trust, the CQC is considering new information to determine any further regulatory action. Any inspection activity will be reported on and published on the CQC’s website.