Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) have published a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement.
The agreement sets out how CQC will work with those leading the GIRFT programme to safeguard the wellbeing of people receiving health and social care in England, to promote patient safety and to support improvements in care.
GIRFT is a national programme designed to improve care within the NHS by reducing unwarranted variations. It tackles variations in the way services are delivered, and shares best practice between Trusts. It identifies changes that will help improve care and patient outcomes, as well as delivering efficiencies. The programme started as a pilot within orthopaedic surgery. It has since been extended to include over 40 clinical specialties.
The formal agreement between both organisations is underpinned by the following principles:
• Making decisions that promote people’s safety and encouraging high-quality care
• Respecting each other’s independent status
• Cooperating in an open and transparent way
• Ensuring an efficient and joined up approach that streamlines information requests to providers.
In line with these principles, the agreement confirms that the GIRFT team will regularly update CQC on the findings of their reviews of individual clinical specialities. They will inform CQC of any safety concerns identified during those reviews. And they'll share their final reports and recommendations before publication.
Working more closely, CQC and GIRFT will liaise where providers are failing to implement action plans in response to GIRFT reviews; cooperate to promote safety; and work together in the public interest to support service improvement.
The agreement will be regularly reviewed to make sure it is relevant, up-to-date and effective.
