COVID-19 and the Care Quality Commission
As with everything else happening at the moment, the Care Quality Commission has changed the way they operate during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it is still important that we ensure our quality remains high and we are adhering to their regulations. But, what is the CQC and what do they do?
Who are the CQC?
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) are the independent regulator of all health and adult social care services in England. The CQC aim to make sure people receive safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care.
They have four main roles:
- Registration – Health Connections Patient Transport Service are registered with the CQC
- Monitoring – CQC check that we deliver a good service
- Enforcement – They enforce standards where services are not good enough.
- Improvement – They review services regularly to make sure they improve
How do they make sure services are of a good quality?
- Every service registered with CQC has to demonstrate how they meet their standards.
- Standards are checked at registration and are regularly inspected.
- Inspections are planned, unplanned or can happen because someone has made a complaint about the service they have received.
- When CQC inspect a service they ask what people who use the service think about it.
- They might talk to employees to make sure they understand the needs of the clients.
Have things changed due to COVID-19?
In early March CQC announced that they would be suspending their routine inspections. They explained that it may be necessary for them to use some of their inspection powers in a very small number of cases, but only when they have concerns of harm, such as allegations of abuse.
Instead, they introduced an emergency support framework that they are following during the pandemic. This includes:
- using and sharing information to target support where it’s needed most
- having open and honest conversations
- taking action to keep people safe and to protect people’s human rights
- capturing and sharing what they do