Leaders ‘disconnected’ from front line at high-secure hospital

Bosses at a trust being investigated for corporate manslaughter have been criticised by a regulator, which found care and patient dignity failings, and a “disconnect” between senior leaders and frontline staff at its high-secure hospital.

Rampton High-Secure Hospital, run by Nottinghamshire Healthcare Foundation Trust, was rated “requires improvement” again, following four inspections in April 2026 by the Care Quality Commission.

The news follows a criminal inquiry being launched this summer into the trust’s care and treatment of Valdo Calocane, who killed Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, and Ian Coates in June 2023.

The CQC said that while inspectors found some improvements had been made, they uncovered a series of managerial and care failings in staffing, safe care and treatment, dignity and respect, person-centred care, and in premises and overall management at the hospital.

The report said: “We identified a disconnect between senior leaders and frontline staff regarding the rationale for some operational decisions and the day-to-day reality of staffing pressures.”

The CQC was “not assured that senior leaders had acted effectively on feedback from previous assessments, as many of the concerns remained”, and staff who spoke up “had not seen meaningful changes as a result”.

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Source: HSJ, 21 October 2026