Care Quality Commission issues warning notices to Surrey NHS trust and Leicester council care service

Inspectors from England's Care Quality Commission (CQC) have issued formal warnings and ‘requires improvement’ ratings to two public care providers. The Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, which serves about 744,000 residents, received a warning notice after inspectors found serious leadership shortcomings, staff burnout, a culture where staff felt unsafe to raise concerns, and equality and inclusion problems. The trust has said it has made major changes to its executive team and is working to address the issues.

In a separate inspection, the CQC found serious failures at Leicester City Council’s Shared Lives service, which supports 20 adults with learning disabilities or mental health needs. Inspectors highlighted outdated risk assessments, breaches of consent and mental capacity procedures, ineffective medicines optimisation, and a lack of oversight by leaders. The service was downgraded from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’ and instructed to make immediate improvements across almost all areas.