Anna is a Senior Associate Solicitor at Ridouts. She joined Ridouts in March 2012, initially as a paralegal and qualified as a solicitor in April 2015. Thereafter, Anna took some time out to go travelling. During her time away from the firm, Anna gained legal experience in Australia working for SafeWork New South Wales (the regulatory authority for workplace health and safety in the state).
Anna has worked with health and social care providers in relation to a wide range of legal issues including challenging CQC inspection reports and enforcement action; Notices of Proposal and Notices of Decision to impose conditions on or cancel providers’ registrations. Anna has also helped providers with funding and fee disputes with Local Authorities.
Recent cases:
- Anna acted for a GP Practice when it was served an urgent Notice of Decision by CQC to impose conditions on its registration. Anna assisted the GP Practice with lodging an appeal to the Notice of Decision and helped prepare witness statements which addressed the various allegations and conditions. CQC carried out another inspection of the GP practice and made an open offer to settle the matter by removing three of the imposed conditions and amending the other two. This was a satisfactory conclusion for both parties.
- Anna acted for a provider that had been issued with a Notice of Decision to cancel its registration. She drafted the appeal to the Notice of Decision and the appeal was allowed by consent, meaning that the case was closed and the provider preserved its registration.
- Anna acted for a Learning Disability care provider in relation to a fee dispute with a local authority. Anna successfully secured a large settlement sum and a subsequent uplift in fees for the provider.
- Anna acted for a care home provider in challenging the factual accuracy of an inspection report and the ratings awarded in relation to the home. She drafted the factual accuracy response which led to amendments to the report being made and which resulted in the overall rating increasing from “Requires Improvement” to “Good”. The same provider had a concurrent issue with the Local Authority which had imposed an embargo on the home as a result of alleged safeguarding concerns. Anna corresponded with the Council reminding them of their obligations and the basis upon which a safeguarding investigation should be carried out. The Council concluded that the safeguarding allegations were “unsubstantiated” and the embargo was lifted.
Read Anna’s articles.
