Health watchdog 'not fit for purpose' as report outlines 'significant failings' warns Streeting
ITV News Correspondent Neil Connery reports on the findings.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said that England's health and social care watchdog is "not fit for purpose" as he pledged immediate action to restore public confidence.
His comments come after an independent review into the Care Quality Commission (CQC), a body that monitors all health and adult social care providers to ensure standards and safety.
"Significant internal failings" were identified within the review and were reflected in its ability to identify poor performance at hospitals, care homes and GP surgeries.
Streeting said he was "stunned by the extent of the failings" revealed in the report.
The review found that some organisations had not been re-inspected in several years, with the oldest rating for an NHS hospital dating from more than 10 years ago, while the oldest for a social care provider was from 2015.
Streeting said that ratings of healthcare providers on the CQC website should be taken 'with a pinch of salt' and commission has been asked to 'urgently qualify' ratings
Dr Jack and Sarah Hawkin's daughter, Harriet, was stillborn after mistakes were made by maternity staff in Nottingham. They say the CQC watchdog failed them in its handling of their case.
Speaking to ITV News, Dr Hawkins said: "I'm not sure how they have been allowed and how they have seen fit to operate as they're doing.
"I think that we need to have a public inquiry into how there are so many maternity scandals in full view of the regulator."
Dr Jack Hawkins said the CQC is not fit for purpose and that it has 'let us down personally'
Of the locations the CQC has the power to inspect, it is estimated about one in five health organisations have never been inspected.
It was also found that there was a lack of experience among some staff, including examples of inspectors visiting hospitals.
Some had said they had never been in a hospital prior to conducting an assessment and one inspector of a care home stated they had never met someone with dementia.
The report found inspection numbers were still well below pre-Covid level.
It also found a lack of consistency in the watchdog's assessments and issues with its IT system.
Mr Streeting said: “When I joined the department, it was already clear that the NHS was broken and the social care system in crisis.
“But I have been stunned by the extent of the failings of the institution that is supposed to identify and act on failings. It’s clear to me the CQC is not fit for purpose.
“We cannot wait to act on these findings, so I have ordered the publication of this interim report so action can begin immediately to improve regulation and ensure transparency for patients.
“I know this will be a worrying development for patients and families who rely on CQC assessments when making choices about their care.
“I want to reassure them that I am determined to grip this crisis and give people the confidence that the care they’re receiving has been assessed. This government will never turn a blind eye to failure.”
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When asked if there was a fix that did not involve spending more money, Mr Streeting said: “I don’t think money is the issue here. I think it’s culture.”
He said there needs to be a “radical reform” of the organisation and that he wanted to be clear with potential candidates about the scale of the challenge as he recruits a new permanent chief inspector of hospitals to the CQC.
The Department of Health and Social Care announced immediate steps to restore public confidence in the CQC, which is appointing Professor Sir Mike Richards, a former hospital physician and its first chief inspector of hospitals, to review its assessment framework.
Transparency regarding how the regulator determines ratings for health and social care providers will also be improved and the government will have increased oversight of the CQC, the department said.
Kate Terroni, CQC’s interim chief executive, said: “We accept in full the findings and recommendations in this interim review, which identifies clear areas where improvement is urgently needed."
She added: “Many of these align with areas we have prioritised as part of our work to restore trust with the public and providers by listening better, working together more collaboratively and being honest about what we’ve got wrong.
“We are working at pace and in consultation with our stakeholders to rebuild that trust and become the strong, credible, and effective regulator of health and care services that the public and providers need and deserve.”
Progress will be monitored over the summer and the full independent report will be published in autumn, the Department of Health said.
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