The independent regulator of health
and social care in England

Update from CQC

28 March 2024

A regular update for providers and professionals working in healthcare services

Updates relating to the mental heath sector

A green background, surrounded by yellow note pages, arranged to make the background look like a speech bubble. Three screwed up yellow note pages in the middle.

We have recently published reports and blogs relating to the mental health sector, including:

Monitoring the Mental Health Act

We've published our annual report on the use of the Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA). It details our interactions and insights from engaging with individuals subject to the MHA, along with our assessment of registered services providing care and treatment to those detained under the MHA in 2022/23. We have seen examples of good practice, with staff doing their best in difficult circumstances to provider people with safe and effective care. However, the report highlights that short staffing and underfunding mean children and young people with mental health needs face long waits for essential treatment, while racial inequalities in care persist.

Special review of mental health services at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Following the conviction of Valdo Calocane in January 2024 for the killings of Ian Coates, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care commissioned us to carry out a rapid review of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) under section 48 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

We have now published two parts of this review: an assessment of NHFT's patient safety and care quality, and progress at Rampton Hospital since their last inspection. This review reflects insights from onsite visits, feedback from people who use services, and data including surveys and prevention reports. It also considers the past 5 years of our inspections and broader oversight of mental health services.

Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework

In this recent blog, Chris Dzikiti, Director for Mental Health at CQC, talks about NHS England's Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF). He explores its objectives to address racial disparities and epistemic injustice encountered by individuals from ethnic minority communities. Read more on this framework from NHS England. 

New blog from Ian Trenholm

CQC’s Chief Executive, Ian Trenholm, talks about the feedback we’ve received about the roll out of our new regulatory approach and what we’re doing with it.

Ian reflects on what providers have told us is working well and what needs to be improved and updates on some changes to our approach based on your feedback.

In particular, Ian shares an update on the number of quality statements we'll look at in our assessments. Updating that when carrying out an assessment of a service that is either inadequate or requires improvement all quality statements under the key question that are rated inadequate or requires improvement will be reviewed.

CQC X Healthwatch England Share For Better Care campaign

Text at the top of the image reads: "#ShareForBetterCare", under text an image of a nurse talking to a elderly woman in a wheelchair, right-hand side of the image text reads in a speech bubble: "Together we can improve health and adult social care". Right-hand corner text reads: Care Quality Commission

People are more likely to feedback about commercial services and products than their experiences of health and social care, according to new research we commissioned with Healthwatch England.

We have launched our Share For Better Care campaign which aims to encourage everyone to give feedback on their experiences of care, focusing on people more likely to experience poorer care and inequalities who are less likely to give their feedback.

Through our public awareness campaign we aim to show the public how feedback is used by CQC and HWE to make improvements to the health and social care system.

Together, we can improve health and adult social care, knowing about your experiences of care helps us make a real difference. Join the conversation on X using #ShareForbetterCare.

Help support our campaign using the materials in this stakeholder toolkit here.

Get involved and share your story with us!

 Provider information sessions on visiting and accompanying in care homes, hospitals and hospices

In December 2023, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced legislation to make visiting and accompanying a fundamental standard of care.

Visiting is crucial to the health and wellbeing of those receiving care as it ensures that people remain connected with loved ones and their community. Also that they have people to support and advocate for them when they are at their most vulnerable.

The new legislation will come into force on 6 April 2024. DHSC is running a series of online information sessions via Teams, with support from CQC colleagues. These will explain what the legislation requires you to do as a provider and you will be able to ask any questions you might have about the guidance.

Sessions take place on:

• Wednesday 3 April for care home providers
• Tuesday 2 April for hospital providers

Use this registration form to sign up for a session. Teams invites will be sent a few days before the session. For any queries, please contact the team on visiting@dhsc.gov.uk

Other news

• We've published the final blog in our series sharing learning from the Supported Living Improvement Coalition. This time, we talk about the final 2 factors Coalition partners told us affected quality in supported living. Read the blog and share your thoughts on our online participation platform.
• Improving fairness in practitioner performance management. NHS Resolution’s Practitioner Performance Advice service has published focused research and resources aimed specifically at understanding ethnic minority and international medical graduates (IMGs) practitioners’ experience of performance management, and at improving fairness for all practitioners undergoing such management. Discrimination and bullying were themes emerging in the research. Resources include an Insights summary report and case studies. The service is committed to achieving meaningful change and has drawn up an initial action plan and is working with partners across the health system. Employers and health organisations are asked to review and reflect on the research and to use the published resources to support decision making when dealing with performance concerns. Practitioners are signposted to information on the support Practitioner Performance Advice can offer them.
• It is the first anniversary of the AI and Digital Regulations Service (AIDRS) website. The website offers developers and adopters of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital technology a single place to find relevant information on AI regulation and evaluation in health and social care, delivered in partnership with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Health Research Authority (HRA) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The first case studies and blogs have just been published - please take a look at the website, the case studies and blogs for more information.
• The INTERFACE project, funded by the National Institute for Health Research, investigates clinical governance between the NHS and independent hospitals, influenced by the Paterson inquiry report. They're conducting a national survey on clinical governance, with emails sent to NHS and independent sector leaders from interface@manchester.ac.uk. If you receive it (check junk folders!), please click the link to complete the survey. For queries or to participate, contact project coordinator Ellie Gee at Eleanor.gee@manchester.ac.uk

• The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is warning people not to buy counterfeit or unbranded anti-choking devices as they do not comply with device regulations and could cause harm. If you have anti-choking devices available in your service, check that they are genuine. A product comparison with photos highlighting the differences between a genuine and a counterfeit device can be found in MHRA's Device Safety Information alert. Do not use the device if you suspect it is counterfeit. Please submit a Yellow Card report if you have previously used a counterfeit or unbranded device and it failed to work, including details of where you bought the product. 

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