Chief executive of Care Quality Commission resigns

"The announcement comes just days after an independent inquiry into maternity care at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust was announced. Mr Hartley had previously spent a decade leading the trust and said that in light of that inquiry, his role at the CQC, "has become incompatible with the important conversations happening about care at Leeds." Some of the families who received poor maternity care had demanded his resignation."

"On Monday, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced an independent inquiry into "repeated failures" at the Leeds trust. Mr Streeting said the investigation would examine what had "gone so catastrophically wrong" at the trust's maternity services at both Leeds General Infirmary and St James' University Hospital. Earlier this year, a BBC investigation revealed the deaths of at least 56 babies and two mothers over the past five years may have been prevented."

"Several of the families who had campaigned for the inquiry had questioned Mr Hartley's role at the CQC given he had led the trust for 10 years, until 2023. He was appointed chief executive of the hospital regulator last December having spent 21 months leading NHS Providers, a health service trade body. MARTIN MCQUADE / BBC Mandip Singh Matharoo and Amarjit Kaur's daughter Asees was stillborn in January 2024 - a trust investigation found care issues which may have prevented her death."

Sir Julian Hartley resigned as chief executive of the Care Quality Commission amid scrutiny over his previous decade leading Leeds Teaching Hospitals. The resignation followed the announcement of an independent inquiry into repeated failures at Leeds maternity services at Leeds General Infirmary and St James' University Hospital. A BBC investigation found that at least 56 babies and two mothers may have died unnecessarily over five years. Families who received poor maternity care had demanded Hartley's resignation and questioned his appointment to the regulator. The Leeds trust said it was taking significant steps to address improvements. Hartley had been appointed CQC chief in December after leading NHS Providers.

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