Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons the Care Quality Commission closed its fit and proper persons requirement process on Paula Vasco-Knight, then Chief Executive of South Devon NHS Foundation Trust.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has advised that in October 2015 the CQC received information of concern regarding the appointment of Paula Vasco-Knight as Acting Chief Executive at St George’s University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. These concerns related to Paula Vasco-Knight’s conduct whilst she was Chief Executive at South Devon Foundation Trust. The CQC followed this up directly with the trust to review whether they had followed appropriate recruitment processes and carried out robust checks to determine Paula Vasco-Knight’s fitness prior to her employment.

Based on the extensive evidence supplied by the trust and information provided separately from the Nursing and Midwifery Council the CQC concluded that the trust had not breached the fit and proper persons regulation at that time in relation to that appointment. The CQC informed the trust of this decision in February 2016 but reserved the right to reopen the case in light of any further information received. At the time of this decision, neither CQC nor the trust was aware of the fraud charges.

In April 2016 CQC received new information that led it to re-open the case. In early May 2016 both CQC and St George’s became aware for the first time of the criminal investigation and fraud charges being brought against Paula Vasco-Knight. The CQC were subsequently asked by NHS Protect to put the case on hold pending their criminal investigation. St George’s University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust suspended Paula Vasco-Knight at this time. These are matters of public record.