CQC welcomes extension of local system reviews programme

CQC has written to local system leaders in six local authority areas where we shall be undertaking new or follow-up reviews exploring how older people move between health and adult social care services.

Formerly requested by the Secretaries of State for Health and Social Care and for Housing, Communities and Local Government; this further tranche follows on from our national report – the culmination of our programme of 20 local authority area reviews – published in July.

'Beyond Barriers' highlighted the positive outcomes we found for older people when leaders in local health and care organisations worked well together and supported their teams in providing high quality person-centred care. But we also found too much poor practice where a lack of co-ordination and co-operation between services had led to fragmented care and badly affected older people’s experiences.

The three new areas we have now been asked to review and will report on individually by December are:

• Staffordshire
• Leeds
• Reading

We have also been asked to choose three local system areas, from those that we carried out in our programme of work in 2017/18, to follow up on progress made.

The three follow-up areas are:

• Stoke-on-Trent
• York
• Oxfordshire

Ian Trenholm, our Chief Executive, said:

“This further request by Government is testament to the work we have done understanding the local pressures and challenges across health and care systems.

“As the ‘Beyond Barriers’ report laid bare, our intention is that this next round of reviews will provide an important picture of what is working well; the barriers that may be preventing local people and organisations from working together effectively; and, most importantly, the impact this has on those who depend on health and care services.

“We look forward to sharing and building on the local good practice we have seen so far, for the benefit of the people that local authorities and health organisations support.”