Nurses call for Care Quality Commission to be strengthened
Published: 16 January 2012
Many nurses feel the healthcare regulator, the Care Quality Commission, needs to improve to become truly effective, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warned today (16 January).
A survey of more than 5,000 RCN members found that although nurses support the regulator and welcome the improvements it has recently made, more than a third of respondents (35 per cent) did not believe the CQC sufficiently takes into account the importance of staffing levels and skill mix when assessing healthcare providers such as hospitals. Many nurses also had concerns about the consistency of inspections across England.
RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary, Dr Peter Carter, said:
“Having the right numbers and mix of healthcare professionals is pivotal to delivering high standards of patient care and outcomes. It is therefore very worrying that nurses feel that the CQC does not focus enough on staffing levels in hospitals and care homes, and has a lack of experienced staff to carry out the inspections. This clearly undermines the credibility of its work. ”
Today, the RCN sets out 10 recommendations for change, which it believes will improve the relevance and credibility of the CQC. These recommendations include:
- The CQC provides much greater detail on staffing levels that inspectors see on their visits;
- the CQC ensures all hospitals and care homes have an unannounced inspection once a year and that inspectors talk to a range of both senior and junior staff without managers present;
- that there is a balance of unannounced inspections both during the day and at nighttimes;
- the CQC sets out a two week target for responding to those who raise concerns or “whistleblow,” with the CQC replying with a detailed explanation about how it will now proceed; and
- the CQC must support its current staff to maintain their nursing expertise and registration to help counter the perception of a lack of clinical expertise, as well as continuing its ongoing recruitment of inspectors who have up to date clinical backgrounds.
Dr Carter added:
“There is no doubt that nurses and healthcare assistants support the need for an effective regulator, particularly as we know that this is a hugely difficult time for health and adult social care providers. The requirement to save £20 billion across the NHS in England as well as the Health and Social Bill currently going through Parliament, means that the NHS is undergoing a period of major upheaval and instability. It is therefore vital that the CQC is given the resources and staff to ensure it can regulate hospitals, care homes and care services effectively and can provide assurances on the quality of care.
“That more than 5,000 nurses completed this survey is indicative of the strength of feeling on this issue. Nurses have welcomed the recent changes the CQC has made to improve its efficiency in response to concerns, and it is essential that the CQC is now supported to continue to mature and develop into an effective regulator. However, it is vital that other honestly held concerns are addressed as a matter of urgency.”
The RCN’s report also identified recent criticisms of the CQC, including that it has been slow to respond to concerns and that too few inspections are being undertaken – around 70 percent less during the second half of 2010-11 compared with the same period in the previous year.
ENDS
Notes for Editors
A total of 5,426 nurses filled in the online survey which was available from 21 August 2011 until 19 September 2011. Of the respondents, 989 were Band 6 and above and 4,437 were Band 5 nurses and below.
For further information, interviews or illustrations please contact the RCN Media Office on 0207 647 3633, press.office@rcn.org.uk or visit http://www.rcn.org.uk/newsevents/media
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world. The RCN promotes the interest of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations.