• CQC publishes final report following its comprehensive round of inspections
• Birmingham Children’s Hospital is rated ‘outstanding’
• Final report comes one week after CQC close its consultation into a new targeted inspection regime to be rolled out in April

The Care Quality Commission has now finished publishing all inspection reports following its comprehensive round of inspections. The final report published sees Birmingham Children’s Hospital being awarded an ‘outstanding’ rating

The publication of the final report comes a week after the CQC closed its consultation into how it regulates NHS trusts and foundation trusts in the future. The CQC will begin roll-out of its new inspection approach from April 2017.

The CQC’s new regulation regime is intended to offer a more targeted and tailored approach to inspections, with previous ratings helping to determine how often trusts are re-inspected.

Commenting on the publication, and the move towards a new inspection regime, NHS Providers director of policy and strategy Saffron Cordery, said:

“We welcome the publication of the inspection report released today for Birmingham Children’s Hospital which sees the trust receive an ‘outstanding’ rating. With this final report published under the CQC’s programme of comprehensive inspections, we now look forward to April 2017 when the CQC will begin to roll out its new inspection regime. Our members welcomed the chance to take part in the consultation for the new regime which closed last week.

We welcome the move to a more targeted and responsive system that will see previously ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ trusts inspected less frequently.

“The proposal set out by the CQC is positive. In particular we welcome the move to a more targeted and responsive system that will see previously ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ trusts inspected less frequently. Building stronger relationships with providers and making better of use of information supplied by trusts will help to relieve some of the regulatory pressures that they face. By working more closely with partners including NHS Improvement the new regime should provide a ‘single version of the truth’ when assessing performance of trusts.  

“While the direction of travel is welcome, it is important that its inspections team have a strong understanding of the different service types, including mental health, community and ambulance services to ensure that its new approach is fit for purpose across the board. Success of the new regime will be measured by whether the CQC can deliver a robust inspection model that provides assurance about the quality and safety of services while at the same time reducing the burden of regulation so that resources are not diverted from frontline care. The CQC must also seek to address concerns around the time taken from inspection to the publication of final reports and ensure the new system remains flexible enough to adapt to a fast moving health and care sector, which remains under increasing demand pressures.

Success of the new regime will be measured by whether the CQC can deliver a robust inspection model that provides assurance about the quality and safety of services while at the same time reducing the burden of regulation so that resources are not diverted from frontline care.

“We would encourage the CQC to continue to engage with providers throughout the two year roll-out of the new inspection regime to evaluate and refine its impact, as well as ensuring that the new regime does not add further pressure on already stretched providers through additional increases in their regulatory fees.”