A new survey has revealed that most health leaders believe regulators and inspectors must take more account of extenuating services when reviewing NHS services.
That is according to an NHS Providers report into healthcare regulation, which found that regulatory burden (52%) and the number of ‘ad hoc’ requests (59%) grew last year, during which services were more overstretched than many people’s living memory.
The annual survey found that just over one in 10 (14%) trust leaders think regulators take stock of operational pressures, while concerns were further raised about the dearth of opportunities to challenge the decision-making process as well as a wider lack of confidence in the skills and expertise of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) inspectors.
Less than four in 10 (37%) believed the CQC’s approach to inspection catered to the sector’s needs – down from half last year. This comes alongside two in three respondents reporting the regulator’s process did not promote collaboration and integrated care.
Today we published our new report ‘Improving regulation for the future’.
— NHS Providers (@NHSProviders) July 20, 2023
It explores:
🟣@CareQualityComm and @NHSEngland’s recent changes to their regulatory approaches.
🟣Trust leaders’ relationship with the regulatory bodies.
Learn more ⤵️
Questions about NHS England were also raised, as the majority (77%) of respondents perceived the current oversight framework as a performance management tool, rather than an improvement model.
Trusts also highlighted some confusion and duplication between NHS England and integrated care boards (ICBs), and thus doubts about ICBs role as performance managers.
"Leaders continue to support the regulators' 'direction of travel' as they develop their approaches. But their support for the underlying principles is in sharp contrast to their experiences of regulation on the front line,” said NHS Providers’ chief executive, Sir Julian Hartley.
"It has been a particularly challenging year for trusts trying to meet ever growing demand with limited capacity, on top of eight consecutive months of disruptive industrial action.”
He continued: "And yet in these times of extreme pressure, trusts feel the regulatory burden is going up. It is vital that regulators take these pressures into account as they work with providers, both in their day-to-day dealings with trusts and in their reporting of what they find on the ground.
“We need proportionate regulation that is focused on helping trusts improve care."
Image credit: iStock
