30.03.12
Give it time
The NHS Confederation has cautioned that simply increasing the number of inspections the CQC carries out will not necessarily lead to improvements in care.
Firstly, these inspections have to be of a high quality themselves, something which may be questionable at the moment with the CQC. They should be targeted towards those providers which pose the greatest risk, or that haven’t undergone inspection for a significant period of time.
Additionally, more structural change could act to destabilise the regulator further, rendering it even less effective to inspect care provision. It has been acknowledged that the set up of the organisation was not handled in the most efficient way, and that lack of inspections could be blamed, to some extent, on the struggle to eliminate a backlog of bureaucracy.
The more time, funding and support that can be offered to the CQC, the more likely it is that the organisation will be adequately prepared for the new challenges that lie ahead with Government reforms and increased responsibility.
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