Health inspections are “not fit for purpose” according to comments by Wes Streeting today. This came in response to an independent government report into the Care Quality Commission (CQC). What’s gone wrong with CQC and what does it mean for the NHS as a whole?
The CQC is a body that inspects the quality of healthcare in the NHS.
The CQC was created in 2009 that merged all previous NHS inspectors into one. Until then Mental Health, Physical Healthcare and Social Care all fell under three different commissions. At the time it was argued that integration would allow inspectors to identify systematic flaws, however, today’s report casts doubt on that.
Today’s report is not the first time the CQC has come under criticism. In 2015 MP Meg Hillier, at the time head of the ‘PAC’ which examined the public accounts of government bodies called the CQC “not an effective regulator”, noting that the PAC had once identified over 200 errors in a draft CQC report. The same year, an internal report found that productivity was “slumping” behind targets since 2009.
This was five years before the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
What Did The Report Say?
Although the report has not yet been released to the public, an interim report was released today. The report found large flaws in the current set up of the CQC. A few specific problems were identified as causing the CQC’s inadequacy, such as problems with the IT system, however, one problem underpinned most of the body’s flaws.
The systematic problem identified in the provisional report was in staff. The CQC had too few inspectors and those that it did lacked the medical experience necessary to properly carry out evaluations.
The finding of the report is particularly severe give the scale of the crisis in the NHS. As of May, the NHS backlog was reported to be at 7.6 million, whilst a significant fall from the backlog’s peak of 7.8 million in September of 2024, NHS backlogs have stagnated, with Streeting claiming that clearing the backlog would be his “driving purpose” as Health Secretary in May.
Whilst there are a number of reasons for the scale of the backlog, analysis by the Institute for Government in 2023 identified falling staff productivity as the primary driver of the crisis. According to the IFG and a parliamentary report in 2022, the departure of NHS staff following the Covid-19 pandemic has created a vicious cycle in the NHS. Not only did the departure of skilled staff cause an initial shock in the quality of care, but by losing experienced employees, the NHS is less able to train new staff to take its place.
With today’s report, the scale of this problem is likely to be greater than previously thought. The fact that those working for the body tasked with determining whether or not the NHS has the skills necessary to function itself doesn’t have the skills to function is possibly the best indication of the skill shortage the CQC has given.
The Government’s Reaction
The findings of the report were addressed immediately by Wes Streeting today, who described himself as “stunned” at the inadequacy of the CQC, stated that he was “moving fast” to address the problem. The government issued a press release within hours stating that it would enact the suggestions of the report and to release the full report to the public next week.
Streeting’s description of the CQC not being fit for purpose is one of a series of statements by government officials over the last month expressing their dismay at the degree of dysfunctionality over the state of government function.
In the weeks following Labour’s election, Starmer has described prison, energy and the nations finances as being in “worse than I thought”. Whilst none of this is to imply that Labour’s “dire inheritance” from the previous government isn’t indeed dire, the Government’s rhetoric serves more than a descriptive purpose.
In this early stage of government, Labour are likely to emphasise the degree of failure by the Conservatives. In doing so, Labour not only enable the government to better take credit for improvements, but it will likely be used to provide
Final Thought
Regardless of rhetoric, the scale of the problem identified in this report is undeniably disastrous. Streeting’s claim that there is “worse to come” is likely correct. Whilst some aspects of failure identified can be dealt with immediately, such as the problems with the IT system, the problem of the skill shortage will take years to replenish.
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This article was written by Chamber UK’s features writer – Alex Connor.