Former chief of healthcare watchdog linked to ‘cover-up’

The Care Quality Commission’s then chief executive Cynthia Bower was present during a discussion of the deletion of an internal review which criticised the regulator’s inspections of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, according to an independent review released this week.

Ms Bower, who yesterday resigned from her current post as a non-executive trustee of the Skills for Health lobbying body, said she “gave no instruction to delete” the review, but added as the former CQC boss: “The buck stops with me.”

Her deputy, Jill Finney, and media manager Anna Jefferson were also present when the deletion was discussed.

The women, who deny any wrongdoing, were named by CQC officials following pressure to identify those involved.

When the report was published on Wednesday, the names of those involved had been 
redacted – a move made after the CQC received legal advice suggesting publishing the names could breach data protection laws.

But after further advice, the watchdog decided to name those involved.

Louise Dineley, the author of the internal review, told independent investigators Ms Finney ordered the deletion of the report and the others “verbally agreed”.

Ms Dineley, head of regulatory and risk quality at the CQC, claimed Ms Finney said to her “read my lips” when she gave the instruction. When Ms Finney was interviewed by the authors of the latest report, she told them Ms Jefferson, who is still employed at the regulator, said: “Are you kidding me? This ) can never be in a public domain nor subject to an FoI (a Freedom of Information request).”

Ms Jefferson said the quote, which she claimed had since been retracted by Ms Finney, was “completely untrue” and she was “devastated” to be implicated.

Ms Finney also denied ordering the deletion of the review.

Concerns about the maternity unit at Furness General Hospital in Cumbria came to light in 2008, but the CQC gave the Morecambe Bay trust, which runs the hospital, a clean bill of health in 2010.

In March 2011, Cumbria Police launched an investigation into a cluster of maternity deaths at the trust, including that of Joshua Titcombe who died aged nine days in 2008 after hospital staff failed to spot and treat an infection.

Up to 16 newborns and two mothers are feared to have died between 2001 and 2012 due to poor care at Furness General Hospital, where another nine infants were born with permanent brain damage.

CQC’s chief executive, David Behan, apologised for initially withholding the names and admitted it had got it “wrong”.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt welcomed the decision to name the women as “a sign that the NHS is changing”.

“There has been a history of cover-ups for many years but has to be accountability for people’s actions when something goes wrong,” he said.