CQC chair apologises for comments on colleague's mental health
- 13 Sep
Head of CQC has been forced to apologise to CQC board member, after she publicly made extremely personal comments regarding her mental health.
Dame Jo Williams, who retired as CQC chair last week, yesterday withdrew allegations that she made to the commons health committee regarding Kay Sheldon's mental health. It is claimed that these were made to discredit her as a whistleblower.
Sheldon has spoken out with highly critical evidence about the CQC's leadership to a public inquiry, to which Williams requested her to be removed from the CQC board due to mistrust:
There are processes and procedures that we have within the CQC that she did not choose to use. She could have gone to the secretary of state of a minister to express her concerns.
When giving evidence to the health committee, Williams said she felt a “duty of care” towards Sheldon. She claimed the whistleblower had been found in a toilet “distressed, not recognising her own name” and “completely wet through” after walking out of a board meeting last year. Also that Sheldon believed “everyone is talking about her” when she walked down the street.
Labour MP Valerie Vaz has complained about these personal comments, saying that it is unfair with Sheldon being unable to respond, and so the CQC chair has had to apologise for making these comments public, and has withdrawn the claims she has made.
Kay Sheldon says that a distorted version of these events has been portrayed and her GP and the in-house occupational health nurse have not expressed any concerns about her mental health. Despite calls for her to leave the board following her complaints, she says she will remain there:
I was appointed to the CQC board particularly to bring the perspective of people who use health and social care as well as my expertise in mental health. My experiences within CQC over the past year have been reminiscent of the time I was trapped in a service providing poor care - disregarded and stigmatised.
It is wholly unacceptable that a body, particularly one charged with protecting people in vulnerable situations, has behaved in this way
Related articles
- 11 Sep
People in Bedfordshire can find mental health support through an audio guide
The guides have been written by clinical psychologists and are available to download in print or listen to as an audio file, reports Bedfordshire News.Dr Judy Baxter, Clinical Director with BCCG and...
- 10 Sep
Police officers in Dorset to receive mental health training
The partnership with the University comes as part of the county’s Mental Health Street Triage Project. It is hoped to equip officers with improved knowledge and skills to assess members of the...
- 09 Sep
People in Peterborough can refer themselves for mental health services
Through a drive to offer support to more people and ease pressure on doctors, people living in Peterborough can self-refer themselves to mental health services, reports Peterborough Today.Dr Adrian...
- 08 Sep
The first mental health centre for men
The site has been set up by Alex Eaton, whose dad took his own life and has suffered with mental health problems himself, in Burton upon Trent, reports BBC Newsbeat.Mr Eaton said: "We are the only...
- 07 Sep
NHS trust told no mental health beds available
Dr Bohdan Solomka has said that on Sunday a lack of beds were applied across the NHS and among private providers, reports the BBC. The director of the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trusts...
- 07 Sep
Over 16,000 mental health referrals for young people have been rejected
Between July last year and June this year, data from the NHS has found that Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services rejected 5,396 referrals, reports STV News.Over the last three years 16,565...
- 04 Sep
New mental health centre to open in Ardwick
Plans to build a new £6m treatment and recovery centre in Manchester have been revealed. It will be built in Ardwick and be run by Alternative Futures Group, reports the Manchester Evening...
- 03 Sep
Research finds more chance of re-offending if mental health issues are present
Research has found that ex-prisoners with mental health problems and drug and alcohol misuse are more likely to commit violent offences after release than other former prisoners, reports the...
- 02 Sep
Drop in the number of people with mental health issues held in cells
Recent figures have found that the Crisis Care Concordat has seen over 10,000 people receive care from mental health nurses with the support from police officers, reports the Burton Mail.Figures have...
- 02 Sep
Mental health social work scheme accepting applications
100 places are now available for applicants who have a 2:1 or above undergraduate degree and can demonstrate attributes such as resilience and empathy, reports Community Care.The Think Ahead...
Responding to the DWP Consultation: Housing Benefit Reform - Supported Housing "I found the event informative and timely it helped me to complete our response to DWP without which I would have struggled." S.S. - Safe House
