Care England has voiced disappointment with the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) annual assessment of health care and social care in England, saying it fails to fully address what needs to change post-Covid.
Care England chief executive Martin Green said he welcomed recommendations in the CQC’s report - including a new deal for the adult social care workforce – but it does not go far enough.
“It is disappointing to note that the report is predominantly a narrative of events which spanned the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.
“This is underscored by the lack of internal reflection from CQC as to its handling of the crisis.”
The CQC’s ‘The state of health care and adult social care in England 2019/20’ assessment examines trends, shares examples of good and outstanding care and highlights where care needs to improve.
This report starts by considering the quality of care prior to Covid-19 before subsequently examining the impact of the pandemic and the response of the system.
Care England said ‘State of Care’ highlights “fantastic work” by the adult social care sector with 80 per cent of adult social care services were rated as good and 5 per cent as outstanding.
The representative body, however, is concerned that among mental health services that the level of poor care in inpatient wards for people with a learning disability and/or autistic people continues to rise.
The overall proportion of services rated as inadequate rose from 4 per cent to 13 per cent.
“The pandemic has demonstrated the interdependence of the health and social care system and the organisations that operate across the system,” said Green (pictured).
“The regulator must now reflect upon its own role and look to facilitate the delivery of safe, quality and sustainable Covid-19 proof care in the future,” he added.
