In her latest blog, Professor Bola Owolabi, Chief Inspector of Primary Care and Community Services, reflects on the State of Health and Adult Social Care in England 2024/25 report, highlighting growing pressures on primary care as patient demand rises. GP practices now serve an average of over 10,000 patients, and while appointments have increased by nearly 10% in two years, access and quality remain challenging. Most practices are rated ‘good’, but inequalities persist for people in deprived areas, those with disabilities, mental health conditions, and ethnic minority groups.
Bola calls for investment in community services and reform to funding models to deliver the government’s 10-Year Health Plan. Without stronger support, care quality risks declining, especially for vulnerable groups. Tackling health inequalities, improving joined-up care, and prioritizing general practice are described as mission-critical to safeguarding the future of primary care.
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 Express your interest to join an important conversation shaping the future of assessment frameworks in healthcare.
📅 Tuesday 9 December | 🕙 10:30am – 4pm | 📍 London (venue TBC)
Led by Chris Dzikiti, Interim Chief Inspector of Mental Health Care
Who should attend: people working in hospitals, secondary and specialist care, primary care and community services and mental health care.
Why join?
- Influence language, structure and content of frameworks
- Explore what “good” looks like across healthcare
- Help build a collaborative approach that reflects what matters most
Places are limited! Express your interest by Friday 28 November using this form.
 We’ve shared our latest update on the changes we’re making to improve the way we work. This includes progress on simplifying registration, reducing backlogs, and moving to sector-focused inspectorates.
We also set out longer-term plans to strengthen regulation, enhance digital platforms, and respond to recommendations from external reviews. These changes aim to make processes clearer and more efficient for providers.
You can read more about what’s changing and how you can help shape the future of regulation by sharing your feedback.
The NHS ethnicity data recording improvement plan has been published.
Research has shown that ethnic minority people report poorer healthcare experiences and outcomes compared to White British people.
Good quality ethnicity data; complete, accurate, up to date and consistently recorded across systems - is essential for appropriate risk stratification, and the delivery of equitable and personalised care. It is essential for effective service planning, quality improvement and monitoring the equity of services.
This plan sets out targeted actions to strengthen the quality, consistency and completeness of ethnicity data recording. It supports NHS organisations to identify and act on issues that affect their ability to record and analyse ethnic health inequalities data.
We have guidance on our website relating to how to check the identity of a CQC inspector if they visit you in person or contact you by phone or email.
We would encourage you to familiarise yourself with the steps you can take to check the identity of the CQC inspector and share this information with your teams.
Genuine CQC inspectors carry ID badges that include a photograph of the inspector on the front; a copy of our warrant on the reverse; and the signature of the Chief Executive in post at the time the card was issued.
If you're concerned that someone might not be a genuine inspector,
- Consider whether they are asking you for information we should already have (such as the name of your registered manager or your registered manager’s ID number).
- Contact our enquiries team on 03000 616161. Our team can check the inspector’s name against our records while you’re on the phone.
- You can ask the inspector to put their request in writing and contact our enquiries team if you’re concerned about information being requested over the phone.
- If you suspect that you have been the victim of a suspected fraud or attempted fraud, report this on the Action Fraud website.
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