The body responsible for regulating NHS and care services in England is not fit for purpose, according to Health Secretary Wes Streeting. This announcement follows an independent review that found significant failings at the Care Quality Commission (CQC), as revealed in headline findings released by the government.
The CQC, which inspects around 90,000 different services, including hospitals, GP practices, care homes, and dental surgeries, has been criticized for severe shortcomings. Streeting expressed his shock at the scale of the issues and announced a series of emergency measures in response.
Among the identified failings were:
- Inspectors lacking necessary experience, with some inspecting hospitals without prior exposure to such environments.
- Care home inspectors without any experience with dementia patients.
- A backlog of assessments, leaving one in five services without a rating, including new care providers, GPs, and private health clinics that have opened in the last five years.
- Inconsistencies in assessments.
- One NHS hospital that had not been inspected in over a decade.
The full interim report, set to be published on Friday, has already prompted immediate action. Streeting emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating, “We cannot wait to act on these findings, so I have ordered publication of this interim report so action can begin immediately.”
To address the issues, Sir Mike Richards, a highly experienced cancer doctor and former chief inspector of hospitals, has been appointed to work with senior leaders at the CQC. The regulator has also recently appointed an interim chief executive, Kate Terroni, who was deputy chief executive until Ian Trenholm stepped down last month.
Additionally, the CQC will now report regularly to the Department of Health and Social Care on the steps it is taking to rectify the problems. The review was led by Dr. Penny Dash, chair of the board overseeing north west London’s health and care system, who interviewed over 200 senior NHS staff and carers and more than 50 CQC employees.
Dr. Dash stated, “The contents of my interim report underscore the urgent need for comprehensive reform within the CQC.” Her final report is due in the autumn.
Prof. Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, and Sir Julian Hartley, of NHS Providers, have both welcomed the acknowledgment of these problems and the proposed reforms. Terroni assured that work is already underway to address the identified issues, stating, “We accept in full the findings and recommendations in this review, which identifies clear areas where improvement is urgently needed.”
The journey to reform the CQC is expected to be challenging but is deemed essential by all parties involved.