The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has set out its timeline for changing the way it works to regulate in a smarter way, adapting and responding to risk, uncertainty and demand, with an ambition, as set out in its 2021 strategy, to reduce health inequalities and drive improvements for people who use services.
A phased approach from August 2022 will see small groups of early adopters begin to work with the new approach to test how it works, submit information to the new CQC provider portal and enable processes to be refined further. These will include care home providers and hospice providers. From September the early adopter group will be expanded to include some GP practices, independent providers and care homes. From October, the provider portal will be opened to all providers and the CQC will start to carry out assessments using its new approach. In 2023, the aim is to start the full roll-out of the new way of regulating. This means all providers will be regulated against the new single assessment framework, will have relationships with the CQC team in their area and will be using the new provider portal
The new assessment process aims to provide for more dynamic and flexible regulation that provides up-to-date and high quality information and ratings, easier ways of working with the regulator and a more proportionate response.
Until the new assessment framework is introduced, the CQC will continue to use its current methods to monitor, assess and rate providers.
