The interim chief executive of the CQC, Kate Terroni, has responded to an interim independent report that found significant failings in the regulator’s internal workings.
The interim report by independent lead reviewer Dr Penelope Dash – published ahead of the full report due in the autumn – found ‘significant failings in the internal workings of CQC which have led to a substantial loss of credibility within the health and social care sectors, a deterioration in the ability of CQC to identify poor performance and support a drive to improved quality – and a direct impact on the capacity and capability of both the social care and the healthcare sectors to deliver much needed improvements in care’.
In response, Kate Terroni said: “We accept in full the findings and recommendations in this interim review, which identifies clear areas where improvement is urgently needed. Many of these align with areas we have prioritised as part of our work to restore trust with the public and providers by listening better, working together more collaboratively and being honest about what we’ve got wrong. We are working at pace and in consultation with our stakeholders to rebuild that trust and become the strong, credible, and effective regulator of health and care services that the public and providers need and deserve.
“Work is underway to improve how we're using our new regulatory approach. We’ve committed to increasing the number of inspections we are doing so that the public have an up-to-date understanding of quality and providers are able to demonstrate improvement.
“We’re increasing the number of people working in registration so we can improve waiting times. We’re working to fix and improve our provider portal, and this time we’ll be listening to providers and to our colleagues about the improvements that are needed and how we can design solutions together. We’ll be working with people who use services and providers to develop a shared definition of what good care looks like. And we’re also developing a new approach to relationship management that enables a closer and more consistent contact point for providers.
“Additionally, to strengthen our senior level healthcare expertise, we have appointed Professor Sir Mike Richards to conduct a targeted review of how the single assessment framework is currently working for NHS trusts and where we can make improvements. Sir Mike’s career as a senior clinician, and a distinguished leader of high-profile national reviews, as well as his direct experience of driving improvement through regulation, make him uniquely placed to conduct this work."
Commenting on the interim report, Vic Rayner OBE, CEO of the National Care Forum, said: “Credible regulation is an essential cornerstone for both those receiving care and support, and those working within the sector. This report has laid bare the very significant performance and implementation issues that CQC is facing and has begun to delve into the areas that need urgent and immediate transformation. The fact that this report has been expeditiously released shows a positive intention by DHSC to start to fix these problems within the regulator and we welcome the clarity the report offers. It is essential that the work to repair the CQC includes a clear focus on what social care providers and the people we support need from a regulator and does not just focus on the needs of the healthcare sector.”
