The Secretary of State has announced today that CQC will look at information including the workload, service delivery and the overall training experience of junior doctors, and the mechanisms junior doctors will use to report working patterns that could put patient safety at risk. CQC already talks to junior doctors as part of our hospital inspections, and we take any concerns raised about working hours very seriously. Going forward, we will also consider the information collected as part of this new work review process as part of our judgement on whether a hospital is delivering safe, effective care for patients.
Sir Mike Richards said:
"As Chief Inspector of Hospitals, I want to make sure the NHS is delivering the safest care for patients. The new work review process will enable the CQC, through its inspection process, to consider new data which will help bring strong external scrutiny to how NHS trusts manage the workload, supervision and support for junior doctors. This will inform our judgement on how trusts deliver safe quality care for patients."
The new work review process will enable the CQC, through its inspection process, to consider new data which will help bring strong external scrutiny to how NHS trusts manage the workload, supervision and support for junior doctors.