To help providers of health and social care services learn from the experience of responding to coronavirus around the country, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is to carry out rapid reviews of how providers are working collaboratively in local areas.
These Provider Collaboration Reviews (PCRs) will focus on 11 Integrated Care System (ICS) or Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) areas. The reviews aim to support providers across systems by sharing learning, helping to drive improvements and prepare for future pressures on local health and care systems.
In carrying out the reviews, CQC will use data it holds and undertake conversations with providers and ICS and STP leaders. This will include the experiences of people who use services.
CQC’s ambition is to look at provider collaboration in all ICS and STP areas. The first phase, between July and August will see reviews in:
• Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICS
• Norfolk and Waveney STP
• The Black Country and West Birmingham STP
• Lincolnshire STP
• North East and North Cumbria ICS
• Lancashire and South Cumbria ICS
• Frimley Health and Care ICS
• Sussex Health and Care Partnership ICS
• North West London STP
• One Gloucestershire ICS
• Devon STP
These reviews will involve understanding the journey for people with and without coronavirus across health and social care providers. They will focus on the interface between health and adult social care for the over-65 population group.
Rosie Benneyworth, Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care explains: “The speed and scale of the response required by the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the benefits to services and the people who use them of creativity and innovation through collaborative approaches. Responses to the pandemic have offered opportunities for partnership working, ensuring shared efforts to avoid fragmentation and drive best experiences and outcomes for those accessing care within the system.
“These reviews will help identify where provider collaboration has worked well to the benefit of people who use services. Sharing that learning will help drive further improvements across systems.”
Review teams will feed back findings to areas following each review to help them plan ahead. Themes from the 11 reviews will be reported in September in CQC’s COVID Insight report and State of Care in October.
Saffron Cordery, Deputy Chief Executive of NHS Providers, says: “We welcome this approach. It is good to see CQC adapting to reflect the changing environment and piloting different means of working with providers and their partners.
“One of the great achievements by Trusts in response to COVID-19 was the way that they and their partners quickly developed new approaches, collaborating to confront the greatest challenge in the history of the NHS.
“We look forward to seeing details of how this has been done, and the lessons to be drawn from these initiatives to support more collaboration, and the CQC’s approach to regulation, in the future.”
