News
Report highlights failings of Care Quality Commission
An independent review of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has identified significant internal failings which is hampering its ability to identify poor performance at hospitals, care homes and GP practices. The interim report, led by Dr. Penny Dash, chair of the North West London Integrated Care Board, found inspection levels were still well below where they were pre-COVID, a lack of clinical expertise among inspectors, a lack of consistency in assessments and problems with CQC’s IT system. Some of Dr. Dash’s findings include:
l Of the locations CQC has the power to inspect, it is estimated that around 1 in 5 have never received a rating.
l Some organisations not being re-inspected for several years – with the oldest rating for an NHS hospital dating from over 10 years ago and the oldest rating for a social care provider dating from 2015.
l A lack of experience among some inspectors – with the review hearing of inspectors visiting hospitals and saying they had never been in a hospital before and an inspector of a care home who’d never met a person with dementia.
The government issued a statement that it will now take immediate steps to restore public confidence, including by increasing the level of oversight of CQC, ahead of a full report by Dr. Dash, which will be published in the autumn. Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes 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 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.” The Health and Social Care Secretary has announced four immediate steps the government and CQC will take to restore public confidence in the regulator and ensure patients can get an accurate picture of the quality of care available. These include: l The appointment by CQC of Professor Sir Mike Richards to review CQC assessment frameworks. Sir Mike was a hospital physician for more than 20 years and became CQC’s first Chief Inspector of Hospitals in 2013, retiring from this role in 2017.
l Improving transparency in terms of how CQC determines its ratings for health and social care providers.
l Increased government oversight of CQC, with CQC regularly updating the department on progress, to ensure that the recommendations in Dr. Dash’s final review are implemented.
l Asking Dr. Dash to review the effectiveness of all patient safety organisations.
To start to rebuild its credibility, Dr. Dash has highlighted urgent actions CQC can take including overhauling the inspection and assessment system, rapidly improving operational performance and fixing faltering IT systems.
RCOG calls on government to take
urgent action on gynaecology care crisis access emergency care because their gynaecology conditions have worsened as they wait. The RCOG analysis found that every month more patients are referred into gynaecology services than are seen and treated. Dr. Ranee Thakar, President of the Royal College
Over three quarters of a million women are currently waiting for hospital gynaecology services in the UK. Since 2020, gynaecology waiting lists in England
have grown faster than any other elective specialty and are now over double the size they were prior to the pandemic, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has revealed. Nearly half (46%) are waiting over the NHS target of 18 weeks and around 5% over a year. This is resulting in increasing numbers of emergency admissions, as many who are on waiting lists attend A&E and
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www.clinicalservicesjournal.com I September 2024
of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: “Women’s health has long been deprioritised and under- funded but our new dashboard has, for the first time, revealed the true scale of the gynaecology care crisis.” Visit:
https://www.rcog.org.uk/ gynaewaitingtimes/
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New ‘Women in Surgery’ Chair announced
The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) has announced that Felicity Meyer, Consultant Vascular Surgeon based in Norfolk, has been elected as the next Women in Surgery (WinS) Chair at RCS England. Women in Surgery has been a national initiative of RCS England since 1991, dedicated to encouraging, enabling and inspiring women to fulfil their surgical career ambitions. RCS held its first-ever election for the WinS Chair, which allowed eligible Women in Surgery members to choose who will represent them on Council as an invited member. Felicity will take office in September 2024. The current WinS Chair, Tamzin Cuming, will
step down in September following a successful three-year term, which saw a number of important initiatives under her leadership, including a partnership between the Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery (WPSMS) and RCS England to tackle sexual misconduct in all forms. Tamzin’s work representing WinS and speaking on sexual misconduct in surgery to government, in the media and across College platforms, has raised the profile of the scale of the issue in the NHS and highlighted how the College and WPSMS are working to eradicate it. Her tenure also included a vibrant WinS
Conference and International Women’s Day events hosted at the College, a packed WinS theatre at the Future Surgery Show, and progress on work to increase mentorship opportunities for underrepresented groups in surgery and widening access to surgical careers through outreach to schools. Commenting on her appointment, Felicity said: “I am absolutely thrilled and humbled to be the first elected chair of Women in Surgery. I am looking forward to the challenges ahead but Tamzin Cuming leaves very big shoes to fill! I would like to thank her for all her hard work and support, especially around sexual safety, which has brought about wholesale change throughout the NHS.” Felicity is passionate about teaching and
training and is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of East Anglia. Join the WinS Network for free to receive
exclusive news and updates: https://www.
rcseng.ac.uk/careers-in-surgery/women-in- surgery/register/
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