CQC Portal Issues: Head of CQC Apologises for Disruptions
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) portal is an online system that allows health and social care companies to manage their registration to the CQC, to submit notifications and to update their user account details.
In March 2024, a new portal was launched in the hopes of creating a streamlined and more user-friendly platform for businesses to use. However, many services reported major issues, such as delayed submission processing, an inability to access the portal and frequent outages and delays.
This coincided with the launch of the CQC’s 2021 strategy, which introduced a whole new regulatory approach and assessment framework for providers to follow. On top of this change, in June, Ian Trenholm stepped down from his role as Chief Executive of the CQC after 6 years. As a result, many businesses were left feeling confused and unsupported, prompting a candid public apology in July from the CQC’s new interim Chief Executive, Kate Terroni.
We understand that this is an uncertain time for services registered with the CQC, so our team at ClouDoc has put together this overview of all the recent changes in the business and an update on where the CQC are at now.
Issues with the portal
While some providers can use the new CQC portal as expected, many have been experiencing a number of critical issues.
Some services have been unable to log in to the system, meaning they are unable to submit essential notifications, applications, or annual returns. Many providers are therefore having to submit statutory notifications to the CQC via email.
Additionally, for the users that are able to login, there have been reports of significant delays to processing submissions and notifications, as well as intermittent outages to the system. This has affected tasks like notifying the CQC about service changes or registering new managers.
The CQC’s response
In response to growing concerns from providers, Katie Terroni issued a length apology in July. In her candid statement, she said:
“I want to start with an apology. We’ve got things wrong in the implementation of our new regulatory approach. I know that the changes we’ve delivered so far are not what we promised. It’s made things more difficult than they should be. We’re not where we want to be, and we’re determined to put things right.”
To address these issues, Terroni outlined several steps for improvement, including providing more guidance on the CQC’s regulatory approach, improving the way they manage their relationships with providers, and working to improve the online portal. She emphasised the CQC’s commitment to rebuilding trust and promised to keep providers updated throughout this period of change.
The latest updates
New statement from Kate Terroni
In a statement published at the end of August, Kate Terroni offered her latest update on the CQC’s progress in addressing its issues over the last few months.
The first of these steps is a new pilot program that the CQC are initiating in the NHS. This is aimed at building relationships between providers and their local assessment team by having named provider oversight leads that offer a single point of contact. The long-term plan is to expand this model to other sectors, based on the success of the pilot program.
Terroni also announced the CQC’s intention to return to three Chief Inspectors and claimed they plan to begin recruitment soon. They intend to make changes to the roles within the inspection teams, which will mean more colleagues can deliver inspection activity. This will support the CQC’s plan to increase the frequency of assessments and achieve their goal of surpassing the 5,000 assessments that are scheduled to take place by the end of March 2025.
Additionally, the CQC are developing a new regulatory handbook that is aimed at clarifying inspection standards and expectations. Providers can have an input on how this handbook would best meet their needs by completing the online project survey and sharing their opinions.
Terroni made it clear that this was the first of a series of updates the CQC intend to publish regarding their progress, meaning we expect more developments to take place over the coming months.
New Labour government deems CQC ‘not fit for purpose’
In May 2024, Dr Penelope Dash, chair of the North West London Integrated Care Board, led an independent, government-commissioned review into the Care Quality Commission. The findings were published in an interim report in July and they revealed serious failings in the effectiveness of the CQC’s work.
The key issues identified were:
- Low inspection levels.
- A “lack of clinical expertise among inspectors”.
- A “lack of consistence in assessments”.
- Issues with the CQC’s IT systems.
In light of this report, the Labour government’s new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, has admitted that the CQC are “not fit for purpose” and stressed his determination to “grip this crisis”.
Streeting has outlined the immediate steps the new Labour government intend to take to restore public confidence in the CQC and rectify these issues, which include:
- Appointing Professor Sir Mike Richards (CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals 2013-2017) to review the CQC’s assessment frameworks.
- Improving transparency of how the CQC determines its ratings.
- Increasing government oversight of the CQC to ensure that all government recommendations are being implemented.
- Dr Penelope Dash will review the effectiveness of all patient safety organisations.
In response to these findings, Kate Terroni (interim Chief Executive of the CQC) stated “We accept in full the findings and recommendations in this interim review, which identifies clear areas where improvement is urgently needed”.
The government has announced that a more detailed report will be published in Autumn 2024 by Dr Dash, meaning further updates are expected.
The ClouDoc team is keeping track of any updates that are made and is happy to answer any document related queries. If you have any questions relating to CQC inspections or the documents you may need, give ClouDoc a call on 0330 808 0050 or email support@cloudoc.co.uk
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