We've written to all registered providers in England setting out how we're responding to coronavirus and how we plan to approach future decisions as the situation develops. At this challenging time we've established three key principles that we'll use to make sure services continue to be safe, whilst limiting the impact on providers and our own colleagues.
We'll be focusing our activity where it is needed most to ensure people receive safe care – this means concentrating on those areas where we see that the risk to the quality of care is the highest and where we can make the biggest difference.
We'll support providers by looking at how we can act flexibly and proportionately to reduce the asks that we make of them – including reducing what they need to do to prepare for inspection and looking at what we can do to limit our need to be on site.
We'll honour our duty of care to our colleagues at CQC.
Ian Trenholm, Chief Executive said:
“CQC inspection and regulation activity will continue. However, we will be adapting our standard inspection approach – adopting a targeted risk based approach to direct our efforts at areas of specific safety concern – this means that planned inspections of services may well be postponed. Clinically qualified CQC special advisors are already being supported to return to the frontline to help with the wider national response.
We are very conscious of balancing the need for public reassurance with our impact on health and social care providers and will be focused on working with providers to ensure that they are supported to keep people safe while the health and care system faces a period of considerable pressure. As the regulator with unique oversight of the NHS and social care, we will maintain our role in keeping patients and service users safe as people continue to access care in difficult circumstances, provide assurance to Government and Parliament that health and social care services are safe, and ensure that patient safety is being monitored during the period of the COVID-19 outbreak.”
In our new report we call for leaders across adult social care to work together to create a culture of openness where people using services feel empowered and supported to be open about sexuality and relationships - while ensuring they are protected from sexual harm.
The report draws the connection between an environment which allows people the basic human right to express their sexuality, and an open culture where people feel able to raise concerns around safety where necessary.
It also sets out the findings from our analysis and our recommendations for change.
Right Reverend Graham James has published his report of the findings of the independent inquiry that was set up following the conviction of surgeon Ian Paterson. Ian Trenholm, our Chief Executive said the report showed the truly devastating impact of Paterson’s crimes and everything possible must continue to be done to prevent such a wilful abuse of patient trust from ever happening again. We've issued a full statement in response.
We're looking at the impact of winter pressures, sharing examples of where we're seeing good practice and highlighting the need for better planning to manage increased demand.
In the second of our blog series, our Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services, Dr Rosie Benneyworth highlights the challenges facing primary care and discusses some of the good work we’ve seen that address these challenges.
