Our annual report and accounts which published today sets out what we have achieved in 2016/17 and the further work we have planned to deliver the ambitions of our five-year strategy for a more targeted, responsive and collaborative approach to regulation.
In 2016/17 we reached a significant milestone by completing our comprehensive inspection and ratings programme of all NHS trusts, adult social care services, GP practices, out of hours, NHS 111 and independent healthcare providers that were registered at the start of the programme. This has involved more than 45,000 inspections and has provided a baseline of care quality that we have not had before.
Through our inspections and ratings we have been able to focus on measuring quality improvement and highlighting where services may not be improving or where care is deteriorating and action is needed. Our unique view across all the different types of care enabled us to highlight our concerns that adult social care services were approaching a ‘tipping point’ in our State of Care report for 2016/17 prompting national debates about how quality can be improved and what policy changes may be required. We have also published a number of important thematic reviews, such as our investigation of deaths and our end of life care reviews.
All this has been achieved at the same time as improving the efficiency of our systems to make financial savings and provide better value for money.
Sir David Behan, Chief Executive of the Care Quality Commission, said: “2016/17 was an important year for CQC as we delivered our business plan, including completing our comprehensive inspection and ratings programme. As a result, we now have a robust baseline of quality across health and social care and a strong foundation on which to build our next phase of regulation.
“Our ratings allow us to highlight improvements and identify excellence as well as pin point where action is needed. We want to be a catalyst for changes that improve the quality of care and I am encouraged that despite the considerable challenges facing each sector, improvements in quality have been achieved. People who use services, as well as their families and carers, have every right to expect nothing less.
“I would like to thank my staff thank for their hard work over the last twelve months and their commitment to ensuring health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care.
“As we look ahead, we need to adapt and develop to meet the new and continued challenges in the health and social care system, while still making important organisational cost savings. At all times, we remain committed to acting independently and being on the side of people who use services, their families and their carers.”
Highlights from 2016/17 include:
- Improving the efficiency of our registration process to make it faster, more streamlined and a more effective barrier to poor providers.
- Consulting with members of the public, people who use services and their carers, providers and our stakeholders to help shape and develop plans for our next phase of regulation.
- Publishing updated assessment frameworks, registration guidance for learning disability services and further detail on how we will monitor, inspect and rate NHS providers.
- Appointing a Chief Digital Officer to improve our information technology systems and the ease with which the public can access our data and inspection findings.
- Establishing a robust assessment and recruitment process with the number of inspection staff in post remaining consistently above 90 per cent throughout the year.
- Taking enforcement action 1,910 times to hold providers to account where we find they are putting people at risk of poor care, investing in more training for enforcement staff and improving our enforcement recording processes.
While we have made strong progress, we recognise that there is more to be done, particularly to improve the speed with which we publish our inspection reports. We will need to continue to adapt and develop to meet the new and ongoing challenges for the health and social care system while working more efficiently as an organisation.
As part of this we want your feedback on our plans for further changes to the way we regulate health and adult social care services. To find out more and to get involved, visit www.cqc.org.uk/nextphase.
The accounts have received a clean audit opinion from the Comptroller and Auditor General. This means that our accounts are fair and accurate. We lay our annual report and accounts before Parliament every year.
CQC’s Annual report and accounts 2016/17 is available to download from CQC’s website at www.cqc.org.uk/annualreport.