Independent report
Blowing the whistle: an investigation into the Care Quality Commission’s regulation of the Fit and Proper Persons Requirement
This report is about our investigation into the Care Quality Commission’s regulation of the Fit and Proper Persons Requirement.
Documents
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The Fit and Proper Persons Requirement (FPPR) requires NHS providers to ensure that their directors are ‘fit and proper’ to carry out their duties.
One of the aims of the FPPR is to prevent directors who have committed misconduct from moving around the NHS.
We carried out our investigation after a whistle-blower (Ms K) brought their complaint to us, which we partly upheld.
We found that the Care Quality Commission’s handling of FPPR was not transparent, fair or proportionate and it amounted to maladministration.
We recommend that within eight weeks of this report, the Care Quality Commission should:
- send a formal apology to Ms K for the injustice and distress that their actions have caused her
- offer £500 to Ms K in recognition of the injustice caused to her
- review their learning from this case and report back to us on the improvements they have made to demonstrate rigour in their FPPR considerations.