‘Inadequate’ provider threatens CQC with legal action

A patient transport company rated “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has said it is taking legal action against the watchdog because it claims the judgement was based on factual inaccuracies and inspectors “going rogue”.  

Inspectors gave the company poor scores for both safety and leadership and identified “systemic shortfalls that placed people at risk and did not meet the standards of a safe or well‑led service”, including what they described as substandard training and “poor management”.

But the parent firm of HTG-UK East – Norwich, which was inspected last September, said it rejected the watchdog’s “highly damaging” findings. HTG-UK chief Neil Berry told HSJ that inspectors chose “hearsay over hard evidence” and dismissed 34 “factual inaccuracies” raised by the team.

He said HTG-UK had successfully overturned a warning notice issued after the inspection – but accused inspectors of “going rogue” and still proceeding with an “inadequate” rating.

This is not the first time a patient transport company has taken legal action against the CQC over an “inadequate” report.

At a tribunal hearing in March 2023, Specialist Medical Transport successfully appealed the CQC’s notice of decision at a First-tier Tribunal, which found the regulator’s decision “was not necessary, reasonable or proportionate”. 

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Source: HSJ, 31 March 2026