CQC publishes State of Care report

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published its annual “The State of Health Care and Adult Social Care in England 2019/20.”

Due to the impact of COVID-19, this year’s report has a new narrative format with a greater emphasis on ratings and a focus on the benefits of systems’ working but with less analysis and recommendations than in previous years.

Although 85 per cent of providers have achieved a good or outstanding CQC rating despite the huge pressures they have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic has exacerbated intrinsic weaknesses within social care systems and highlighted inequalities, not least continued underfunding and increasing levels of unmet need, particularly in the State-funded market.

UKHCA has consistently argued for a sustainable funding settlement for the homecare sector and regulatory over-sight of local authorities’ commissioning practices.

Commenting on the report, UKHCA’s Policy Director, Colin Angel, said:
 
“CQC’s State of Care report provides an important reminder to Government that the social care sector was in a fragile state before the pandemic. None of the causes have been resolved in the meantime. The call for a new deal for the adult social care workforce is one which is supported by employers and comes at a point where Government is making decisions about future public spending.
 
“While recognising that producing this year’s State of Care report must have been challenging to write, it would have been preferable to have had more analysis and recommendations, rather than the lengthy narrative approach adopted in this year’s report. We continue to urge Government to amend CQC’s role. This will ensure that it can report and comment far more extensively on the commissioning of services, to present a properly rounded picture of how care systems support people in their local communities.”

Ends

Notes for Editors
1. United Kingdom Homecare Association (UKHCA) is the professional association for more than 2,100 domiciliary care providers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
2. As a member-led professional association, UKHCA’s purpose is to enable a strong, sustainable, innovative and person-led homecare sector to flourish. We represent and support our members so that people can live well and independently at home. UKHCA’s members agree to abide by the Association’s Code of Practice, which can be found at www.ukhca.co.uk/codeofpractice.aspx.
3. Fourteen of UKHCA’s non-executive directors are elected by the membership of the association and serve for a period of three years. The Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and Honorary Secretary are elected by the non-executive directors from within their number. The Association’s Chief Executive and Corporate Services Director are also non-executive directors.
4. For further information please contact:

Matthew Kiernan, Press Officer
United Kingdom Homecare Association Ltd
Sutton Business Centre, Restmor Way, Wallington, SM6 7AH

Telephone: 020 8661 8165
Mobile: 07393 012 113
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.ukhca.co.uk
Twitter: @ukhca

Registered in England, No. 3083104.