New CQC inspections put on hold by ministers

The Care Quality Commission’s assessments of integrated care systems (ICSs) have been put on hold at the last minute, as the government declined to sign off on the process.

They were due to begin this month, following pilots in Birmingham and Solihull and Dorset ICSs, but the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has put the brakes on assessments elsewhere until it receives government approval.

Under the legislation brought in when ICSs were set up in 2022, the CQC can review and assess systems, but ministers must approve its methodology.

Interim chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care James Bullion wrote to integrated care board chiefs this week stating that, following discussions with the Department of Health and Social Care, the CQC had agreed to a “short delay… to allow for further refinements to our approach”.

He added: “In particular we have been working with NHS England on their strengthened approach to performance evaluation and rating of the ICB elements of the ICS which we will take into account as evidence for our scoring and reporting approach.”

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Source: HSJ, 8 April 2024