What is the CQC?

The CQC, or Care Quality Commission, is the independent regulator of all health and social care services in England. They check all English hospitals to ensure they are meeting Government standards, and then inform the public of their findings.

Essentially, their job is to make sure that care provided by hospitals, dentists, ambulances, care homes and services in people’s own homes and elsewhere meets Government standards of quality and safety. They also protect the interests of vulnerable people, including those whose rights are restricted under the Mental Health Act.

The CQC supports the LINk to ensure local views and opinions are heard. TheCQC keeps in regular contact to share their current review programme, find out the LINk's latest work programme and Enter and View plans, learn about issues that have been raised by the general public and feed back how they have used any information shared via the LINk. If the CQC takes enforcement actions, the LINk is informed as soon as information becomes public. If the LINk then needs to take action, the CQC helps to coordinate this with their future activity .

Read recent reports by the CQC...

Funding

The CQC is funded by the Government. It began operating on 1 April 2009 as the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England, replacing three earlier commissions: the Healthcare Commission, the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Mental Health Act Commission.

What are the Government Standards?

The Government standards cover all aspects of care, including:

• Treating people with dignity and respect
• Making sure food and drink meets people's needs
• Making sure that that the environment is clean and safe
• Managing and staffing services

The CQC registers care services that meet the standards, inspects them to check that they continue to do so, and takes action when they don't.

How the CQC Enforces Standards

When standards aren't being met, the CQC can use its powers to:

• Issue fines or warnings
• Stop admissions into a care service
• Suspend or cancel a care service's registration

Find out more about the CQC.