The independent regulator of health
and social care in England

Update from CQC

3 October 2024

A regular update for providers and professionals working in healthcare services

Re-building a trusted approach to our regulation

'Latest updates' printed on paper tab

We have set out how we will drive the improvements needed to re-build trust in our regulation.

This involves making immediate changes to support our response to the recommendations in the interim report from Dr Penny Dash and to improve our ways of working ahead of the publication of the final report. These changes will help us to deliver:

• a clear and transparent programme of assessment and ratings
• quicker and more effective registration and assessments of providers
• simpler and clearer reports.

Visit our website to read a summary of the immediate changes we are making. We will share more details soon of what is happening and when. This will include further information on the frequency of assessment and when we expect to carry out more assessments.

New resource aimed at encouraging improvement in NHS maternity services

Close up of newborn baby holding parents finger

We have published a series of online resources to support NHS hospital maternity services, sharing good practices and encouraging improvement. Developed with input from providers, maternity staff, and stakeholders, these resources are designed for staff at all levels to enhance the quality of care and drive positive change.

The resources, which complement our recent national maternity inspection report, focus on four key themes:

• leadership and culture
• safety incidents
• triage processes
• healthcare equity.

Each theme offers guidance on what good practice looks like, what we assess during inspections, and examples of excellence. We invite feedback through our pop-up survey on our website to help us refine and expand this online resource.

Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations annual report 2023/24

The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (IR(ME)R) protect individuals from accidental or unintentional exposure to ionising radiation in healthcare settings. Healthcare providers must notify us of incidents that meet reporting thresholds. Our annual report outlines the number and types of errors reported between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, along with key findings from our inspections and enforcement activities during that period.

In 2023/24, we received a total of 819 notifications across all modalities. These incidents represent a small proportion of over 30 million diagnostic imaging exams and 116,000 radiotherapy treatments conducted. Common issues included errors resulting from inadequate identity checks and staffing shortages. The report identifies recurring concerns and offers practical actions for employers to improve safety and compliance with regulations.

Note to providers: With effect from 1 October 2024, IR(ME)R 17 will be amended to the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 - or 'IR(ME)R Amendments 2024’.

Statutory Instrument and Explanatory memorandum: The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (legislation.gov.uk) and The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (legislation.gov.uk).

The accompanying IR(ME)R guidance has also been updated to support interpretation of the new provisions: Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017: guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Notifications

Close up image of reading glasses and pen on top of note book and a laptop in the background

There are a range of statutory notifications that every provider must report to CQC. The legislation allows NHS trusts to submit some statutory notifications via the national system commissioned by NHS England. This used to be the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) and is now Learn from Patient Safety Events (LfPSE). This is set out in notifications guidance for providers.

It is important to note that independent providers must still make direct notifications to CQC. This is because of the way the legislation is written. This means that, even if an independent provider is able to report the incident via the national system set up by NHS England, they must also make a direct notification to CQC.

The August edition of our provider bulletin did not make this distinction, but we hope this is now clear.

Workforce inequalities in health and social care survey

The Institute for Employment Studies are researching workforce inequalities in health and social care and want to hear from you.

They want to understand how employees with certain characteristics are unequally treated while at work, including discrimination, bullying or harassment, not being fairly considered for promotion, or not being able to get issues like these recognised or resolved when they arise.

The survey takes 20 minutes to complete and will provide evidence of how workforce inequalities are experienced and observed in the health and social care sector, providing a better understanding of the frequency and types of workforce inequalities. If you have any questions, please email workforce-inequalities@employment-studies.co.uk.

Other news

• Subscribe to our WhatsApp channel, where we share the latest updates on our new regulatory approach.
• Moritz Flockenhaus, Regulatory Policy Manager at CQC, has published a blog with the AI and Digital Regulations Service for Health and Social Care on 'reflections on building the AI and Digital Regulations Service'.
• Adult Community Mental Health Trusts – Requests for information - We’d like to thank colleagues at Adult Community Mental Health Trusts (ACMHT) who responded to our recent requests for information to support our understanding of ACMHT individual services and teams, and to understand what actions have been taken following the special review of mental health services at Nottinghamshire NHS Foundation Trust. We are also holding 3 provider engagement events in early November for ACMHT to support with our planning of ACMHT thematic reviews. The nominated individual from your trust will have received the invite to these events and asked to nominate 2 individuals to attend. We look forward to seeing you there.
• In a new guest blog, Robyn Chappell, Lived Experience Advisor, reflects on her experience as part of the Expert Advisory Group for a project with CQC and the Point of Care Foundation, funded by the Regulators’ Pioneer Fund, which is developing an engagement and health inequalities improvement framework for integrated care systems. We also share an update on how the project is progressing on our website.