‘He tarnished my reputation’: whistleblower demands action against CQC accuser

A former adviser for the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has called on the regulator to explain what action it has taken against the officials responsible for wrongly dismissing him after he raised whistleblowing concerns.

Shyam Kumar, a surgeon who was part of inspection teams in the North West, told HSJ that he had to live with question marks over his reputation for several years. He is furious that a senior CQC official sought to question his honesty and integrity in evidence submitted to the employment tribunal examing his dismisal.

The tribunal heard Mr Kumar had raised a number of whistleblowing disclosures to the CQC, including concerns about the lack of appropriate expertise on inspection teams.

After a wide-ranging review around its handling of whistleblowing concerns, CQC chief executive Ian Trenholm last week apologised to Mr Kumar for “unacceptably poor treatment” by his organisation, and thanked him for contributing to the review.

However, Mr Kumar told HSJ: “I’m glad the CQC has looked at this and finally acknowledged what they did to me was wrong. But I want to know what has happened to the individuals that were responsible.”

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Source: HSJ, 6 April 2023