The programme of change/reform at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) seem to be gathering momentum.
The CQC has just issued its online newsletter (4th March). It is now inviting people to “Tell us your experience of care”. This is a startling contrast to the situation which pertained under the previous regime at the CQC, when it was extremely difficult to alert the CQC and particularly its inspectors to concerns about any specific registered care or service provider.
If you do wish to contact the CQC (and we suspect many family carers will have reason to do so), please start by reading the CQC’s guidance, before clicking on the ‘Share your experience – Get started’ button
We hope the CQC is ready for an ‘enthusiastic reponse’ to this invitation. We hear that when the CQC invited ‘whistleblowers’ to contact them, following the Winerbourne View scandal, it was overwhelmed by the response.
The CQC appears to be changing. It has to, having been described as not fit for purpose by the BMA, by the committee enquiring into failures at the Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, and by MPs on Commons Health Committee.
We note with interest the concluding article in the CQC’s newsletter:
“Following the publication of our signposting documents late last year, we’re continuing to develop our new inspection models using the feedback that many of you have already given us – thank you. However, we really want to make sure we get the changes right so in early April we’ll be launching a formal consultation about how we’ll inspect and rate services in each of the sectors – watch this space for more information about how you can get involved”.
We will publish details of this formal consultation as soon as we receive them.