Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the adequacy of safety within mental health hospitals following reports from Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has advised that it is reviewing the information it holds on the Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust to identify whether further action is needed to ensure people are safe. Action may include further inspection or enforcement action should it find evidence that people using this service are not receiving safe care and treatment. A report will be published in due course.

CQC continues to gather and review all intelligence and information held about the trust overall to inform any additional regulatory activity that may be required. The rating of the wards providing care for people with learning disabilities and autistic people has been suspended and CQC will review the rating once its inspection is complete.

More widely, the Department is conducting a rapid review into patient safety in mental health inpatient services, which is anticipated to last for approximately two to three months. The review will focus on what data and evidence is currently available to the healthcare system, including information provided by patients and families, and how this data and evidence can be used more effectively to identify patient safety risks and failures in care.