CARE QUALITY COMMISSION - CQC
Under the Health and Social Care Act (2008), from 01 April 2013 all providers of NHS General Practice (and other primary medical services), must be registered with the Care Quality Commission.
People have a right to expect safe, high quality care. As the regulator of health and social care in England, CQC plays a vital role in making sure that care services meet those expectations.
All registered GP providers are now legally required to meet the national standards of quality and safety.
People have a right to expect safe, high quality care. As the regulator of health and social care in England, CQC plays a vital role in making sure that care services meet those expectations.
All registered GP providers are now legally required to meet the national standards of quality and safety.
About CQC Inspections - (written by the CQC)
All providers of regulated health and social care services have a legal responsibility to make sure they are meeting essential standards of quality and safety. These are the standards everyone should be able to expect when they receive care.
The essential standards are described in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 and the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009. We regulate against these standards, which we sometimes describe as "government standards".
We carry out unannounced inspections of all care homes, acute hospitals and domiciliary care services in England at least once a year to judge whether or not the essential standards are being met. We carry out inspections of other services less often. All of our inspections are unannounced unless there is a good reason to let the provider know we are coming.
There are 16 essential standards that relate most directly to the quality and safety of care and these are grouped into five key areas. When we inspect, we could check all or part of any of the 16 standards at any time, depending on the individual circumstances of the service. Because of this, we often check different standards at different times.
When we inspect, we always visit and we do things like observe how people are cared for, and we talk to people who use the service, to their carers and to staff. We also review information we have gathered about the provider, check the service's records and check whether the right systems and processes are in place.
We focus on whether or not the provider is meeting the standards, and we are guided by whether people are experiencing the outcomes they should be able to expect when the standards are being met. By outcomes we mean the impact care has on the health, safety and welfare of people who use the service, and the experience they have whilst receiving it.
Our inspectors judge if any action is required by the provider of the service to improve the standard of care being provided. Where providers are non-compliant with the regulations, we take enforcement action against them. If we require a service to take action, or if we take enforcement action, we re-inspect it before its next routine inspection was due. This could mean we re-inspect a service several times in one year. We also might decide to re- inspect a service if new concerns emerge about it before the next routine inspection.
In between inspections we continually monitor information we have about providers. The information comes from the public, the provider, other organisations, and from care workers.
All providers of regulated health and social care services have a legal responsibility to make sure they are meeting essential standards of quality and safety. These are the standards everyone should be able to expect when they receive care.
The essential standards are described in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 and the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009. We regulate against these standards, which we sometimes describe as "government standards".
We carry out unannounced inspections of all care homes, acute hospitals and domiciliary care services in England at least once a year to judge whether or not the essential standards are being met. We carry out inspections of other services less often. All of our inspections are unannounced unless there is a good reason to let the provider know we are coming.
There are 16 essential standards that relate most directly to the quality and safety of care and these are grouped into five key areas. When we inspect, we could check all or part of any of the 16 standards at any time, depending on the individual circumstances of the service. Because of this, we often check different standards at different times.
When we inspect, we always visit and we do things like observe how people are cared for, and we talk to people who use the service, to their carers and to staff. We also review information we have gathered about the provider, check the service's records and check whether the right systems and processes are in place.
We focus on whether or not the provider is meeting the standards, and we are guided by whether people are experiencing the outcomes they should be able to expect when the standards are being met. By outcomes we mean the impact care has on the health, safety and welfare of people who use the service, and the experience they have whilst receiving it.
Our inspectors judge if any action is required by the provider of the service to improve the standard of care being provided. Where providers are non-compliant with the regulations, we take enforcement action against them. If we require a service to take action, or if we take enforcement action, we re-inspect it before its next routine inspection was due. This could mean we re-inspect a service several times in one year. We also might decide to re- inspect a service if new concerns emerge about it before the next routine inspection.
In between inspections we continually monitor information we have about providers. The information comes from the public, the provider, other organisations, and from care workers.
