CQC ordered to pause ICS inspections

The Care Quality Commission has been ordered to “formally” halt its plans for integrated care system inspections, following the latest criticisms of the organisation.

A major review of the regulator, led by integrated care board chair Penny Dash, is due to be published today. It will identify “serious internal failings,” which are “hampering [the CQC’s] ability to identify poor performance”, according to a pre-released government statement.

It said the health and social care secretary Wes Streeting had accepted a recommendation that the CQC “formally pauses the implementation of its assessments of [ICSs]… as it works to restore public confidence in health and care regulation” to allow it “to focus on getting the basics right”.

The regulator said: ”In agreement with the DHSC, CQC has paused its assessments of integrated care systems for six months.”

ICS inspections were introduced under the Health and Care Act 2022, but the previous government never signed off on the CQC’s approach to running them or decided whether ICSs should be given clear single-word ratings, meaning only a small number of pilots have taken place.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which has been opposing CQC ICS inspections for some time, said: “Given the stark findings, we believe the decision to pause ICS inspections is the right one.”

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Source: HSJ, 15 October 2024