Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the motion passed by the British Medical Association to the effect that the Care Quality Commission is not fit for purpose.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England and monitors, inspects and regulates services to make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate high-quality care and encourage care services to improve.

Effective regulation by CQC is vital in ensuring the public received care of the highest standard.

The new system of CQC inspections give the public clear information on the quality of their local general practice (GP) services. Underpinned by recent legislative changes, the CQC’s inspections include specialist inspectors, clinical and other experts and people with experience of care. Every CQC inspection results in a rating on a scale from outstanding to inadequate against five key domains. Far from not being fit for purpose, the CQC is providing an objective judgement on the quality and safety of GP practices.

The CQC’s inspections of GP practices have found that one in seven are not delivering the care that patients have a right to expect. These findings are crucial in identifying areas for improvement in those surgeries that are not delivering the high standards of care that people deserve.