The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published its third annual report on the state of health and adult social care inEngland.
The report covers the period April 2010 until March 2011 and encompasses evidence from the CQC’s first year of regulation under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
CQC’s chair, Dame Jo Williams, said: “This is the first time that all health and social care providers have been registered with us under the new Act. While it will be a further year before we can present a complete picture of the state of regulated care in England, this year’s report provides a valuable picture of people’s experiences of access to care services, the choice and control that they have when using services, and the quality of the care that is provided.”
Turning to the future, Williams said: “The next few years will see a changing landscape in care, but we are committed to maintaining a relentless focus on compliance with essential standards of safety and quality based on more inspections and providing timely information to the public. We will respond quickly to protect people where we find poor care, using our enforcement powers under the new legislation when we need to do so.”
She added: “We hope providers and commissioners of services will use this information to improve care for the people using their services.”
The report’s main conclusions focus on three key areas:
- Access to care and services
- Choice and control
- Quality and safety