Date Published: 30 April 2009

CQC reaction to Alberti and Colin-Thome reviews on Mid Staffordshire NHS foundation trust

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) today (Thursday) strongly welcomed recommendations made by Sir George Alberti and Dr Colin-Thome in response to concerns raised at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.

Barbara Young, the Commission's Chairman, said several of the recommendations fit well with the regulatory approach the new regulator is putting in place.

The Care Quality Commission's new way of working will help meet the issues that the reviews raise. The regulator will:

* give more emphasis to the views of people using services
* act to identify problems early and intervene swiftly
* work effectively with others in the health and social care system, sharing information early and focussing on effective problem solving and prompt action.

The CQC's plans include the preparation of quality and risk profiles for all providers, as well as the extension of risk summits, already pioneered by the regulator, where both regulators and other oversight bodies can share information.

Barbara Young added that the CQC will now review the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust's progress on recommendations made in the original investigation report. It will carry out progress checks at three months and six months, with a full assessment 12 months after the report's publication.

Barbara Young said:

"It is important for the whole system to work together to get a grip of safety issues at the earliest possible opportunity. Quality of care must be the responsibility of everyone, from frontline staff to boards, commissioners and performance managers, as well as the regulators.

As the quality regulator, we have a key role to play. We will give more clout to the views of patients, work with others in the system to identify problems early and take swift enforcement action where necessary.

We will want to identify the risk of poor performance from the wealth of information we bring together and from our inspection role. We will want to move quickly with providers of services, commissioners and performance managers as well as other regulators to act."

About the CareQuality Commission: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of all health and adult social care in England. The CareQuality Commission inspects health and adult social care services in England, whether they're provided by the NHS, local authorities, private companies or voluntary organisations. It also protects the interests of people detained under the Mental Health Act. (Until 31 March 2009, this work was carried out by the Healthcare Commission, the Mental Health Act Commission and the Commission for Social Care Inspection.)

News is included on the IvyRose website to inform visitors about current health issues, but not to endorse any particular view or activity. Any views expressed in the article above are not necessarily those of IvyRose Ltd.. Material in this news item was released by the CareQuality Commission on 30 April 2009 and may have been edited (e.g. in style, length, and/or for ease of understanding by our international readers) for inclusion here. For further information, please visit their website.