R (Cygnet Health Care Ltd) v CQC [2025] EWHC 1 (Admin)
Apparent bias A patient who had been a patient at Cygnet hospitals, and had made serious complaints about his treatment there, was subsequently appointed as a CQC inspector. His inspection of Cygnet Hospital Ealing led to a criminal prosecution in relation to a patient's death, and Cygnet's application to have those proceedings stayed as an abuse of process was refused. Cygnet then challenged seven inspection reports and four enforcement decisions in relation to other hospitals, which the High Court declared had been affected by apparent bias. However, with one exception (where the CQC's decision not to withdraw the report was quashed) the court refused to grant further relief as it was highly likely that the outcome would have not been substantially different. The costs schedule exceeded £550,000 and the CQC was ordered to pay 90% of Cygnet's reasonable costs with £125,000 paid on account.
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