Further to an independent review of the body responsible for regulating NHS and care services in England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the Health Secretary has said that the health regulator is not fit for purpose.
Significant failings
The CQC inspects and regulates healthcare providers. Everything from hospitals and GP practices through to care homes and dental surgeries. They cover 90,000 different services.
The independent review into the CQC was ordered by the Government in May further to concerns about the CQC’s performance, and was led by Dr Penny Dash, chair of the board who oversees north west London’s health and care system.
A recent independent review has found significant failings at the CQC. Among those were:
- Care home inspectors who had never met a person with dementia.
- Inspectors lacking the necessary experience, including some being asked to inspect hospitals without ever having been into one before.
- A lack of consistency with assessments.
- A backlog of assessments with one in five services never having been given a rating.
- One NHS hospital having gone more than 10 years since its last inspection.
The CQC said it accepted the findings in full.
Interim Chief Executive of the CQC, Kate Terroni, said:
“We accept in full the findings and recommendations in this review, which identifies clear areas where improvement is urgently needed.”
A full interim report is due to be published this week, with a final report due in the autumn.
Not fit for purpose
Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, said:
“I have been stunned by the extent of the failings of the institution that is supposed to identify and act on failings. It’s clear to me the CQC is not fit for purpose. We cannot wait to act on these findings so I have ordered publication of this interim report so action can begin immediately.”
Emergency measures
Lead of the review, Dr Penny Dash, said:
“The contents of my interim report underscore the urgent need for comprehensive reform within the CQC.”
Subsequently, the Health Secretary has announced a set of emergency measures further to the independent review’s interim report.
Among those measures is the appointment of Sir Mike Richards, an experienced cancer doctor, who previously worked in Government as national director of cancer care and spent four years as the Chief Inspector of Hospitals from 2013. He will now work with senior leaders at the CQC.
The CQC must also now report into the Department of Health and Social Care on a regular basis on the steps it is taking.
Comment
It is extremely concerning that the regulator of our healthcare providers is itself failing.
A robust system of regulation and review for healthcare providers is paramount to ensuring care and treatment of patients is meeting the standards required.
What seems clear is that there have been deep-rooted problems within the CQC for a while and change is urgently needed.
Clearly, there is much work to be done to get the CQC back on track and it is important that this has been recognised at the highest level. There will be significant scrutiny of the service in the coming months and interesting to see how the emergency measures drive the necessary improvements, which absolutely must be made.
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