The ‘State of Care’ Report by the Care Quality Commission

Here’s a summary of what they said:

England’s health and social care system is under pressure. Changing care needs and tough financial demands have contributed to an environment where higher quality is hard won. But our inspections show that improvement is possible, and we must look to the best to understand what works and why.

For the first time, our State of Care report draws on findings from our new, more thorough inspections across all of the sectors we regulate. From this, we’re starting to build a comprehensive picture of quality across England and identify the elements that drive high-quality care.

Challenging times

Care providers are being asked to make savings and meet the more complex needs of an ageing population, while ensuring that the health and care system can survive and remain financially stable in the future.
– The NHS has had to cope with increasing pressure but budgets have seen smaller increases than before.
– Adult social care providers have been asked to do more for less, as local authority funding has been reduced.

The findings

Despite these pressures, many providers have managed to improve or maintain quality.

• However, some people are receiving care that’s unacceptable: of the providers we’d rated by the end of May 2015, 7% were inadequate.
• Quality is variable: there are large differences in the quality of care people receive – between different services and different care providers.
• Sometimes quality varies according to who you are or what you need. For example people with mental health needs and long-term conditions and some ethnic minority groups are less likely to report good experiences of care.
• Safety is our biggest concern: of the services we’ve rated so far, 13% of hospitals, 10% of adult social care services and 6% of GP practices were inadequate for safety.