CQC Announce Care Home Improvements

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) have announced that, over the two last year’s, improvements have been made in the care of more than 12000 people living in care homes in England.

All homes providing care for elderly or disabled people are rated from 'outstanding' to 'inadequate' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). There are currently more than 11,000 care homes operating in England.

A tougher inspection system for care homes was introduced by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in October 2014. Further to their initial inspections under this new tougher system, most homes were found to be 'good'.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) analysed what happened to the homes that got the lowest rating between 1 October 2014 and 31 March this year and found that almost 75% of the 372 care homes rated 'inadequate' (but who were still operating) in 2014 had improved.

Of these, 205 have moved from an 'inadequate' rating to 'requiring improvement', 68 are now rated 'good' and 99 have not had their rating changed. Thirty four others rated 'inadequate' in 2014 have since closed either because of enforcement action by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) or because they chose to do so.

Some of the positive changes made by homes, said by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to have demonstrated a commitment to improvement, were investment in the training of staff, and cleaning to make sure rooms and communal areas were "homely and welcoming" at all times.

The Care Quality Commission's chief inspector of adult social care Andrea Sutcliffe said: "While services that have moved to 'requires improvement' are heading in the right direction, I am clear that this is still not good enough and providers cannot afford to be complacent.

"Evidence of consistent practice and sustainability is what we are looking for, to ensure people always get the good care they deserve."

The chief executive of Care England, Martin Green, said the report "clearly shows that despite the care sector facing significant challenges, there is clear evidence that improvements in the quality of care are being sustained".

Jump to top