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The new Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said patients cannot trust the Care Quality Commission after the publication of an interim report that contains scathing criticisms of the CQC’s performance. The CQC’s ratings of (among other institutions) hospitals and care homes, could no longer be taken at face value, Streeting said
Writing in her foreword, report author Dr Penelope Dash said her interim findings revealed “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.”
Among the problems highlighted in the report were concern around the number of physical inspections that took place, inconsistency of assessments and the widespread impact of a glitchy IT system.
Streeting was forthright in his reading of the report’s findings. He said: “How can you tolerate a situation where one in five of your health and care providers has not received a rating? How can you tolerate ratings being reached on the basis of only a partial inspection of the organisation, melded in with inspection reports dating back over a number of years?”
He went on to say that he would implement a number of immediate remedies in response, including the appointment of senior oncologist Prof Sir Mike Richards to rebuild the inspection and assessment system.
Streeting also asserted his desire to increase the transparency with which the CQC arrives at its ratings for health and social care providers, to rapidly improve operational performance, and to increase oversight. The body will be expected to give regular updates on its progress to the department.
Other concerns raised in the review included:
- The implementation of new IT systems created in significant problems– with particular difficulties reported around uploading of documents, password resets and switching users
- Waits of up to ‘several months’ to receive reports and ratings following assessments
- The Commission’s current executive team is drawn predominantly from the social care sector with a clear lack of healthcare experience
The report’s findings were welcomed by Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, who said: “Trust leaders will welcome this announcement. Based on their clear and consistent feedback, we have been calling for urgent reform of the CQC.
“We fully agree with these recommendations. Winning back credibility for the CQC will take a lot of work.
“We recognise the important role of regulation in the NHS, but for that to really add value you need good behaviours, effective leadership, the right expertise and close attention to the issues that matter.”
