Trust fails in bid to overturn CQC warning notice

One of the NHS’s most troubled trusts made an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Care Quality Commission issuing it with a warning notice.

The CQC inspected East Kent University Foundation Trust’s Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate in January.

The commission found the hospital’s urgent and emergency services under severe pressure and on the point of declaring a critical incident. At one stage, the inspectors observed that 28 patients were being cared for in temporary escalation areas, with 50 more in the main waiting area and others in specialty and observation areas.

East Kent appealed against the warning notice, but this was not upheld by the CQC. However, two points relating to monitoring of nutrition and hydration, and inconsistent physical health monitoring in the mental health lounge were removed from the required actions.

Read full article (paywalled).

Source: Health Service Journal, 28 August 2026