Understanding the CQC (Care Quality Commission)

You’ll see the acronym CQC associated with any service providing health or social care in England, so who are the CQC? And what do the CQC do?

CQC stands for the Care Quality Commission, they are the independent regulator for all health and social care providers, whether they are public or private sector providers. The role of the CQC is to ensure that services like GPs, hospitals, home care providers and care homes are providing good care to their patients and clients.  It is a legal requirement that all health and social care providers register with CQC and follow regulations set by the regulator.

You may ask, what does the CQC do to ensure that providers are providing quality care? Once a service is registered with the Care Quality Commission, they will carry out a CQC audit and inspection of the premises that the care is delivered from.

The CQC uses a variety of ways to ensure that health and social care providers are following the CQC regulations. These include listening to the public, talking to staff, talking to the service users, visiting the premises, looking at records to see how patients or clients are cared for, and making sure that the service provider is keeping personal information safe.

Why is it important to understand CQC ratings? After each CQC audit, the CQC inspector will write a report of their findings and rate the provider based on the findings. These reports are then published on the CQC website. Each provider is rated either Outstanding (the service is performing exceptionally well), Good (the service is performing well and meeting CQC regulations), Requires improvement (the service is not performing as well as it should be, and the CQC have told the service how it must improve) or Inadequate (the service is performing badly and the CQC have taken action against the person or organization that runs it). It is important to understand what CQC rating your health or social care provider has been awarded, so you can make an informed decision about the provider that you use, particularly if it is a private service provider. Of course, if a health or social care provider you are using, or considering using, is rated as “requires improvement” or “inadequate” you will want to seek an alternative provider.

Home Instead Bromley, Chislehurst & Orpington is the first, and only, homecare provider to have been rated Outstanding by the CQC for it’s work providing care at home to residents of Bromley, West Wickham, Orpington, Chislehurst, Beckenham and surrounding areas.

If you would like to have a chat with us about the kind of home care services we offer, please give our friendly team a call on 020 8658 2535.

The CQC rate service providers based on the following key questions:

Are they safe? – this means that the service user is protected from abuse and avoidable harm.

Are they effective? – this means that your care or treatment is achieving good outcomes, helping you maintain a good quality of life based on the best possible evidence.

Are they caring? -Do the staff treat you with compassion, kindness, and respect?

Are they responsive to people’s needs? -is the service organised in a way that meets your needs?

Are they well-led? – the leadership, management and governance of the organisation make sure it provides high-quality care that’s based on your individual needs, that it encourages learning and innovation, and that it promotes an open and fair culture.

Here at Home Instead Bromley, Chislehurst & Orpington, we are proud to be rated Outstanding by CQC, if fact we are the only home care provider for older people in the borough that have an Outstanding CQC rating.  Our clients and their loved ones can rest assured that they will be provided with the very best person-centred home care available in the borough of Bromley.

Whether our care professionals are providing companionship, home help, personal care or live-in care, Home Instead Bromley, Chislehurst & Orpington ensure that all our services are delivered with compassion, kindness, and respect.