The National Care Forum (NCF) – the leading association for not-for-profit social care
welcomes the urgent attention being given to the failings within the CQC detailed in an
interim report published today.
Vic Rayner OBE, CEO of NCF 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.
“Whilst this report begins to address some of the urgent concerns on the minds of social
care and support providers, we would urge the DHSC and CQC to urgently focus on the
following:
1. Build back trust in delivery. Providers need a clear Service Level Agreement between
the Care Quality Commission and social care providers for all the core processes
including registration and reinspection. Adherence to agreed timescales, clarity of
contact and reliable delivery are essential components of an effectively functioning
regulator. Unfortunately, the chaotic introduction of the provider portal has been
the final straw for many providers, who have seen the performance of the regulator
decline in recent years, having a material impact on their ability to deliver good
quality, effective services.
2. Regulatory approach that is fit for purpose. The Single Assessment Framework needs
much attention to make it a workable approach across all services. There are
immediate actions that care providers feel would support operational effectiveness
including the development of a provider handbook, co-produced with the sector,
explaining the SAF, how it will be used, scope of quality statements and use of
evidence, transparency around scoring and how to address concerns. This should be
coupled with a document detailing what providers can expect from an assessment
under the new SAF and what the shared responsibilities are.
3. Communication is key. Poor communication has exacerbated the implementation of
the SAF and had a knock-on impact on the trust and credibility of the regulator. A
revolution is needed to improve consistency, clarity, tone, accuracy and
understanding.
“Quality matters to us all and an effective and competent regulator that wants to work with
the sector to help us improve our overall quality and tackle poor quality and concerns is
essential, both for providers, the people we support and their families or carers. We
continue to offer to work proactively with the CQC to help them get back on track and start
to deliver effective regulation which has been lacking and which has been having a serious
impact on the care sector’s ability to deliver responsive services that meet the needs of their
local communities, to be proactive in compliance and quality improvement and innovation
and offer the public clear indications of objectively rated quality.”
