Nurses Call For Care Quality Commission To Be Strengthened

Monday, 23 January 2012

Results of a new RCN survey show that members believe the Care Quality Commission (CQC) needs to improve to become truly effective. The RCN has published 10 recommendations for change, to improve the relevance and credibility of the health care regulator for England.

Findings from the recent survey show that nurses support the regulator and welcome its recent improvements. However, more than a third of respondents did not believe the CQC sufficiently takes into account the importance of staffing levels and skill mix when assessing health care providers.

RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary Dr Peter Carter said: "It is 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."

In the current economic environment, with pressure to make savings, the RCN says it is vital 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.

Read Putting Quality into the Care Quality Commission in England in RCN publications.