Amarjit Kaur and Mandip Singh Matharoo’s daughter Asees was stillborn in January 2024 – a trust investigation found care issues which may have prevented her death.
They welcomed Mr Hartley’s resignation and questioned his original appointment. “The fact that he was head of Leeds teaching hospitals over such a large period of time, where maternity care was substandard should have raised alarm bells within the system to prevent him becoming Chief Executive of such a large regulator in the first instance,” they said.
A whistleblower at the trust, who has raised concerns about maternity, also said they were pleased he’d gone. “Its been dire for many years, including under his watch. Him being the head of CQC was a scandal when staff like us have been complaining to the regulator about unsafe care. Things need to change,” she said.
A statement from a broader group of bereaved and harmed Leeds families said that while they welcomed his resignation, “we do not accept his apology.” Mr Hartley’s CQC role, they added, “has always been a scandal hiding in plain sight. Just as it has been down to bereaved families to prove the total failings of the CQC in their inspection processes and lack of regulatory action in Leeds, this now, again, has fallen onto families to highlight.”