How is CQC ensuring safe, high quality and best value services during challenging times? Alan Rosenbach Special Policy Lead, CQC 7 th March 2011

2 Role and remit – what does CQC do? Single regulator for health and social care Focus on outcomes – we are informed by people’s experiences Register providers of care and monitor compliance with essential standards of quality and safety Tackle poor quality care using risk-based regulation, to reduce the likelihood of harm Strengthen safety and quality assurance using a common system of registration, compliance and enforcement across all sectors Support choice and promote accountability for publicly funded services by providing expert, independent information Reduce the costs and burden of regulation

Registration and compliance monitoring Application made Application assessed Judgement made Judgement published Regulatory judgement Regulatory response Judgement on risk Information capture Information analysis Ongoing monitoring of compliance Registration application

The scale of regulated care Primary medical services 9,000 providers NHS hospitals 409 providers Independent healthcare 1,500 providers Adult social care 12,500 providers Independent ambulances 200 providers Primary dental care 8,000 providers Combined outpatients and inpatients 77.4 million People using adult social care services 1.75 million Dental appointments 36.4 million Plus additional c700 providers (bodies currently licensed HFEA and HTA)

How we gather evidence to monitor compliance Looking at outcomes, a person’s experience of the care they receive Involving people who use services in our reviews of compliance Using a wide range of sources of evidence Focusing on how care is delivered Being targeted and responsive – taking swift action to follow up concerns

6 Product development Work in progress sketch Syndication Linking to places where we know people research health and social care decisions and to providers themselves Work in progress sketch no discussions have taken place with Google yet

7 So what does safe mean for CQC? CQC understands ‘safe care’ to be care delivered by a provider who is compliant with our essential standards Non-compliance does not mean unsafe – it means an increasing risk of care being unsafe. The more ‘non-compliant’ a provider is, the greater the risk – but non-compliant is not an absolute judgement on the quality of care on offer. Quality above ‘compliance’ is not CQC’s responsibility. This lies with providers and commissioners of care – Boards, managers, clinicians, commissioners, professionals……

Enforcement It is the duty of providers to ensure compliance at all times Should a provider not become compliant with the standards required, CQC can:  give a warning notice  impose or vary conditions  suspend registration on some services  issue a fine  prosecute  or close a service by cancelling registration.

9 Our aims for a new information scheme on quality We are designing a new information scheme on adult social care quality, which we aim to begin in spring 2012 Our aim is to provide information about the quality of services to help people who use and commission them to make choices and decisions We also hope to: Motivate providers to improve the quality of care to give people using services the best possible outcomes and experiences Reinforce the need for compliance with essential standards at all times Recognise and reward services that are providing care of a higher quality

Questions CQC – Helping make care better for people Questions? Alan Rosenbach, Special Policy Lead, CQC