The Care Quality Commission (CQC) will move away from a set schedule of care home inspections to a more flexible, targeted approach as part of its new regulatory strategy.
In its ‘A new strategy for the changing world of health and social care’ document, the regulator for English care homes said inspections would remain a “vital part” of its performance assessments but it will also use all its regulatory methods, tools and techniques to assess quality and ensure an “up-to-date picture”.
“We’ll visit when there’s a clear need to do so. For example, this could be when we’re responding to risk, where we only have limited data or we need specific information, where we need to speak to people using the service face-to-face, or to ensure that our view of quality is reliable,” the CQC said.
“For some types of service, we’ll need to visit more often to observe care. Our continuous insight and monitoring activity mean that rather than spending time looking at paperwork when we’re on site, we’ll be able to make the most of our time – we’ll have better conversations with people who live in or use the service, and their families and advocates, and more time to talk with staff,” it added.
One fundamental change is that CQC will assess how well local health and care systems are working and addressing local challenges. This is likely to be underpinned by legislation in the forthcoming Health and Social Care Bill.
Another major change is the way in which CQC will provide information on quality, including ratings, so that these are “more relevant, up to date, and meaningful”.
“This will support people to make informed decisions and be confident that the information provided fully reflects the quality of care available to them and their loved ones,” it said.
In addition, the CQC will offer resources including analysis and benchmarking data to care services where improvements are necessary.
"We’ll hold improvement conversations with services and offer a range of resources to support them to decide for themselves the best way forward rather than telling them what to do. We will develop our skills, capability, and culture to enable this shift," it said.
CQC chief executive Ian Trenholm (pictured) said: “Our purpose has never been clearer. In our assessments we will ensure that services actively take into account people’s rights and their unique perspectives on what matters to them.
“We will use our powers proportionately and act quickly where improvement is needed, whilst also ensuring we shine a positive light on the majority of providers who are setting high standards and delivering great care,” he added.
