This consultation looks at our proposals for assessing quality in 2010-11 and beyond.
The Care Quality Commission will use many methods and tools to achieve its aim of 'making care better for people', including carrying out a programme of assessments of quality.
Our assessments of quality include our powers under the Health and Social Care Act to carry out periodic reviews, special reviews and studies and to publish information and reports about our findings.
Our assessments of quality will:
- complement our registration programme, which assesses and enforces essential standards of quality;
- assess the quality of care over and above those essential standards and drive improvement.
They will also enable us to assess the performance of commissioners and the outcomes they secure for local populations.
For both commissioners and providers they will provide publicly available information for individuals using or choosing care services and for organisations delivering or commissioning those services.
This consultation details how we propose to assess the quality of:
- Councils as commissioners
- PCTs as commissioners
- NHS trusts and PCTs as providers
- Adult social care organisations as providers
It also outlines our plans for how we will report our findings and the special reviews we propose to carry out in 2010/11.
Please take the time to consider our consultation document and give us your feedback.
The consultation runs until 27 April 2010 and we will publish our final plans later in 2010.
- Download the consultation document (PDF, opens in new window)
- Download a summary of the consultation document (PDF, opens in new window)
- Download the partial regulatory impact assessment (PDF, opens in new window)
Accessible versions
- Large print summary (Word, opens in new window)
- Audio summary (MP3, opens in new window)
- Easy to read summary (PDF, opens in new window)
- Easy to read answer sheet (PDF, opens in new window)
Send us your responses
- Register your feedback via our online form (opens in new window)
Email your feedback to: assessmentconsult@cqc.org.uk
Post your feedback to:
Assessment Consultation
Care Quality Commission
103-105 Bunhill Row
FREEPOST Lon 15399
London
EC1B 1QW
http://www.cqc.org.uk/getinvolved/consultations/assessmentsofquality.cfm
PDF version
Earlier this year, we consulted on our proposals for the assessment of quality for health and adult social care in 2010/11.
The consultation provided a high level overview of our planned approach to carrying out periodic reviews and special reviews and studies, and how we plan to publish information about them. We described these three activities as ‘assessments of quality’.
The consultation ran from 2 February to 27 April 2010 and we received over 462 responses to our proposals.
We thank everyone who participated in the consultation, and are encouraged by the many positive responses to our general approach to assessments of quality.
Whilst reviewing the comments, we considered feedback on areas where we can further improve. We have amended our plans for assessments in light of the abolition of the Comprehensive Area Assessment, and the proposals for change in the Government’s white paper, published on 12 July 2010. The changes in the white paper relate to the way the NHS will operate and be regulated.
Our confirmed approach for 2010/11
Councils as commissioners
We have streamlined our approach to focus on the three outcomes that cover particularly important issues in adult social care. This represents a significant change in approach to the assessment for 2009/10, which was based on seven outcome areas.
The three outcome areas for 2010/11 are:
We will pay particular attention to the way in which safeguarding, putting people first and use of resources have been the key drivers for effective delivery of these outcomes. This will provide a clear focus to the assessment and has been developed with key stakeholders including people who use services.
Our approach will be targeted, proportionate, risk based and make the most efficient use of publicly available data. We will publish detailed guidance on the 2010/11 assessment of councils this autumn.
The current programme of service inspections will conclude in September 2010. We therefore propose to develop and implement a revised method by spring 2011. These revised service inspections will have a focus on the primary responsibility of local authorities in adult safeguarding, though with the flexibility to address over time other areas of concern in terms of outcomes for more vulnerable groups in the community.
Assessing primary care trusts as commissioners
We will not assess PCTs as commissioners in 2010/11.
These services will be monitored by the proposed new NHS Commissioning Board, who we will be working closely with.
Assessing NHS trusts (including primary care trusts) as providers
We registered all NHS trusts under the new regulations of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 on 1 April 2010. To be registered, each trust must meet essential standards of quality and safety. We will publish information about ongoing compliance.
We do not intend to publish an overall assessment of NHS providers on their performance in 2010/11.
Adult social care providers
Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, we are registering all providers of adult social care that carry out regulated activities for 1 October 2010. To be registered, each provider must meet essential standards of quality and safety. We will continue to monitor the compliance of each provider with these essential standards and we will publish updates on their performance on our website.
In 2010/11, there will not be an annual review of adult social care providers’ performance in addition to registration. We have stopped awarding ratings to providers under our old quality ratings system. We are working with service users, carers, providers and commissioners and others to design a new scheme for assessing quality, which we plan to start rolling out in May 2011. This new scheme will work alongside registration and will include a measure of ‘excellence’.
Independent health care
We are registering, under the new regulations of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, all providers of independent health care that carry out regulated activities on 1 October 2010. To be registered, each provider must meet essential standards of quality and safety. We will continue to monitor the compliance of each provider with these essential standards and provide an update of their performance on our website.
Special reviews and studies
We are currently revisiting our plans for special reviews and studies for 2010/11 in light of the NHS white paper. We will review the consultation responses and the lessons from earlier work to test whether providers comply with registration requirements. Our findings will help us to determine whether there are areas of health and social care that we need to concentrate on.
http://www.cqc.org.uk//newsandevents/newsstories.cfm?cit_id=36599&FAArea...