Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the handling of complaints regarding private hospice care.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England and, therefore, covers the palliative and end of life care sector, including independent hospices. The CQC registers health and adult care providers, monitors and inspects services to see whether they are safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led, and publishes their findings, including quality ratings.

The CQC can use its legal powers to take action where poor care is identified, and can publish regional and national reviews of the major quality issues in health and social care, including palliative and end of life care, encouraging improvement by highlighting good practice. A complaint regarding hospice care can also be made to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/making-complaint

The majority of independent hospices receive some funding from their local integrated care board (ICB). If a hospice does receive funding via that route, a complaint can be raised with the local ICB via the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/about-nhs-services/contact-your-local-integrated-care-board-icb/