The Care Workers’ Charity (CWC) welcomes the publication of the Care Workers’ guide to CQC, a new resource on the Care Quality Commission’s website co-produced with care workers from CWC’s Care Worker Advisory Board and Champions Project. The guide explains who the CQC is, how inspections work, and what is expected of care workers when an inspection takes place. It is a clear example of what co-production delivers: a resource built with the people who will use it, rather than for them.
The guide answers a need that care workers themselves raised. At an in-person roundtable on 6th June 2025, CWC brought Advisory Board and Champions members together with the CQC, and care workers were honest about a real gap: many did not know how to act during a CQC inspection. They described how inspection days could leave managers stressed, how that strain could carry across a team, and how it could affect the care they were able to give.
When care workers understand what an inspection is for and what part they play in it, the day is calmer, the picture the regulator sees is truer, and care is less likely to suffer on the day it is being assessed.
CWC’s own evidence shows why involving care workers this way works. In a survey of 25 Advisory Board and Champions members, every respondent said they felt valued within the project, 96% reported a stronger sense of belonging in the care worker community, and 92% said that being listened to and valued had improved their morale and helped them deliver better care. Co-production does not only produce better resources, it strengthens the workforce that delivers care.
Karolina Gerlich, Chief Executive of The Care Workers’ Charity, said:
“I want to thank the CQC for listening to care workers and acting on what they heard. Our Advisory Board and Champions members were candid about not always knowing how to handle an inspection, and rather than leave it there, the CQC worked with them to fix it. That is exactly how it should work. My ask to everyone who makes decisions about care is to do the same: start with care workers – not after them. We are ready to help you make that happen.”
What needs to change
The Care Workers’ Charity is calling for:
- Decision-makers to bring care workers in at the start of the policies, systems and tools that shape their work, not to consult them after decisions are made.
- Organisations to use CWC’s Care Worker Advisory Board and Champions Project to make co-production practical, from connecting with care workers to running engagement well.
