1. CQC Inspection Reports: Getting it right
Mei-Ling Huang, Royds Withy King
Health & social care team

2. Social care team: Our services
employment and immigration law
CQC registration and compliance
challenging CQC inspections, ratings and enforcement
service user contracts
fees and funding advice
local authority contracts and fee negotiations
safeguarding and inquests
mental capacity, Court of Protection, DOLS advice
business sales and acquisitions
property development, construction and finance

3. Topics
inspections
factual accuracy challenges
ratings

4. Inspections
understand and use the system
advocate for your service

5. Inspection Process 10 working days confirm the actual deadline
only evidence will persuade the inspector

6. Inspections establish a good relationship with your inspector
report safeguarding incidents
prepare your staff
organise your documents
explain things clearly
fix problems
correct misperceptions during the feedback session
check the draft report carefully for accuracy

7. Inspections SSP Health Limited v. CQC
“[A]n independent person within the CQC itself, applying common sense as well as his or her professional expertise, should be able to tell fairly swiftly whether there is or is not a legitimate grievance about the lead inspector’s failure to correct the report. Such a person should be much better placed to resolve that grievance than this court is." 
CQC must undertake a review of its factual accuracy response.

8. Factual Accuracy Factual accuracy log format
section A - typographical errors
section B - challenges to accuracy/provide your evidence 
section C – additional information left out of the report

9. Factual Accuracy
make all your arguments and provide CQC with the evidence
tell CQC how the rating is affected
use section C to add positive evidence

10. Ratings
Figures taken from “The State of Adult Social Care Services 2014 – 2017”
since 2014, ratings have been improving
there are concerns about services rated as “requires improvement” getting stuck
CQC is coming down harder on them

11. Ratings Residential homes as of 5 May 2017: 1% outstanding 80% good
18% requires improvement
1% inadequate

12. Ratings Nursing homes 1% outstanding 67% good 29% requires improvement
3% inadequate

13. Ratings Home care 2% outstanding 80% good 18% requires improvement
1% inadequate

14. Ratings Are ratings standard?
“We will be clearer when services are good with outstanding features and where the rating of requires improvement does and does not entail a breach of regulations”.  CQC

15. Ratings reviews
procedural argument
500 words.

16. Ratings reviews Outcomes of 387 cases, 30/06/17
Review on-going/paused (6%)
Not reviewed (no grounds/other resolution)    (78%)
Rating increased    (5.4%)
Rating decreased    (0.2%)
Mixed outcome (ratings increased and decreased)    (0%)
No change to rating    (10%)

17. Conclusion Factual accuracy logs are very important.
They have important ramifications:
Ratings
Enforcement action
Placements – especially for self-funders
If you feel that your draft report is not accurate, use the FAC process.
Questions?