NHS watchdog claimed that whistleblower Kay Sheldon was 'mentally ill'

When CQC board member Kay Sheldon spoke out against the health watchdog, it immediately began a concerted campaign to discredit her, she tells Nina Lakhani.

The head of the health watchdog, Dame Jo Williams, cast doubt about the mental stability of a high-profile whistleblower who she wanted the Health Secretary to remove from the board,The Independent can reveal.

Kay Sheldon, a non-executive director of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), was subject to ‘priority monitoring' and declared a ‘risk’ to the regulator after she had raised concerns that public safety was being compromised by poor leadership and performance.

Internal documents show the plan to unseat Mrs Sheldon began as soon as she spoke out at the public inquiry into the scandal at Mid Staffordshire hospital last November.

15th August 2012