Care Quality Commission CQC Connect, 8 Jun 2022

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From YouTube: CQC Connect: CQC Strategy 2021 - Driving Improvement

Description

In this short series of podcasts we will be exploring potential themes for our future strategy, due to start from 2021.

In this episode we are looking at 'Driving Improvement', what this could mean for our strategy and the work CQC does.

Listen to more podcasts from the CQC: https://soundcloud.com/carequalitycommission

Find out more information about the CQC and how it regulates health and social care in England: https://www.cqc.org.uk/

A

Hello and welcome to this episode of cqc connect the podcast from the care quality. Commission cqc has an ambition to be a world-class regulator, driving improvements in how people experience health and care services and working towards a safer future.

A

To help achieve this vision, we are developing a new strategy to start from 2021 that builds on the work we've done previously and takes us forward. My name is sam wallace provider engagement lead here at cqc, and today I'm joined by two guests to discuss one of the themes of our new strategy driving improvement.

A

To start off, I'm going to ask my guests to introduce themselves julian. Can I start with you.

B

Hi everybody I'm julian marsden. I lead cqc's research and evaluation function in the care quality commission and I'm also leading on um the theme of driving and supporting improvement for a new strategy with tanzi evans who's going to reduce us introduce herself now.

C

Hi, I'm tanzy evans, I'm a strategy manager at the cqc and I'm working with jillian on our theme around driving and supporting improvement for our new strategy.

A

Thanks both and thanks for joining us today, um so we can kick off with a first question um jillian, could you tell us a bit more about this theme? What does it cover? What's included, what are we looking at.

B

Well, the theme is very much still open for development, and so we're still considering exactly what it covers and we're interested in views about what it should cover. But some of the things that we're thinking about at the moment as possible areas for inclusion are how we can take a more active role in speaking up on priority areas where improvement might be needed most and focusing our efforts and collaborating with partners to achieve change in these areas.

B

We're also thinking about setting a higher bar for what we expect of good services, including expecting them to drive improvement in their services um and potentially in their local system as well.

B

We're thinking about how we can build kind of closer relationships with providers and and building kind of trust and and and support through that relationship, so that providers are clearer on on areas for improvement and where they may get go to for support in those areas.

B

We're thinking about how we get better at promoting innovation in providers and in the system, and also thinking about how we champion throughout all of this kind of the areas that matter most to the public and making sure that their voices are heard.

B

So there's some of the things that we're thinking about we're in particular, kind of also thinking about how cqc might take a more kind of active role in in supporting improvement in particular sectors, where perhaps there's a gap in improvement. Support at the moment and we'd be really interested in thinking about how far cqc should be stepping into that role.

B

Should we have a separate improvement arm and or a team that could go into providers or should we do that at more kind of sector level, um or is this something that other organizations a better place to do? So, that's an unanswered question for us at the moment that we're actively thinking about and considering.

A

Thanks jenny and that's really interesting um tanzy. Could I ask you why? Why do you think this is a really important area for us to be looking at in our strategy.

C

Well, I think, encouraging improvement has has always formed part of cqc's purpose and I think in different ways. We've done a number of different activities in the past to support that, including through things like some of our independent voice activities, where we've highlighted areas where improvement is needed, but I think there's a general feeling that perhaps we could be doing a bit more. We have a lot of unique insight into different health and care sectors. What some of the issues are?

C

We have obviously all of the knowledge of our inspectors and the close relationships they have with providers, and that feels like a really important resource and an area where perhaps we we could be using that better and doing a bit more to help providers improve.

B

I also think just to add to what tanzy has said that there's a potential gap in some sectors around improvement support, so we might identify through our inspections or our ratings, that a service is requires improvement or inadequate, or we might put them into special measures. um But there isn't always um support for them and to do anything about that, and they may not know kind of how to make those changes themselves.

B

And so, when a trust, an nhs trust, is to put in special measures. Nhs improvement can be there to provide some that some of that support, but for adult social care or some a small, gp practice or independent health. We're not always sure that that support is there and and and therefore the question is, is: should that support be there?

B

Who is best placed um to provide that support and what is cqc's role in making sure that that support um is in place so that these services can provide better care for people who use services.

A

Thanks both I mean I get, I guess, hearing hearing some of your reflections that it sounds like um it sounds like a strategic theme that could mean um some quite significant changes for how cqc works in the future. um Could you talk a bit more about what might look different about our work? If we were to take this forward.

C

Yes, I think, um as jillian has said, we're still considering exactly what this might look like, and so there could be some some bigger changes that are possible or it could end up that. We decide to go for sort of more moderate change, um but I think some of the areas um that might look different around the level to which we provide support for providers as jillian has been talking about. um So it could be that we do that more at a sector level.

C

We, it could be a case of running, for instance, workshops or seminars on particular topics that address an issue in a particular sector, um or it could be something a bit more in-depth. We could.

C

We are looking at the option of whether we could have a more of an improvement uh capacity, a separate team, even that could go in and work more directly with providers that may or may not be something we actually want to do, um but that would obviously be a big change from where we are now or it could be that we're just working more closely and in a more perhaps uh planned and consistent way with partners to ensure that some of those gaps in support are filled.

C

Even if it's not necessarily us- that's that's doing all of that, but but we might be playing a more proactive role with partners to to try and make some of that happen.

A

So it sounds like this. This, a big part of this theme is about how we work collaboratively with providers uh other stakeholders, other parts of the health and social care system in the future is that right, jillian.

B

So absolutely we need to work proactively with our providers and build trusting and open relationships with them because they need to understand and we need to work with them to deliver the good quality care that they strive to deliver and that, ultimately, is for the benefit of people who use services.

B

We also need to work with our stakeholders and other system partners, because there are lots of part organizations who have a role in providing improvement or in supporting improvement to happen, and we need to harness the best of all of those organizations to ensure that people who use services receive good quality care.

A

So I think we've already said that the strategy as a whole and this theme is still being developed, so we're not 100 sure exactly what this will look like in the future. So it might be a bit difficult to answer this next question, but if we, if we think about what success, would look like in the area of driving improvement in say three years time or five years time, is there some kind of um outcome we'd like to see absolutely.

B

um I think that in in the future, we'd like to um think that we would have a trusting relationship with our providers and stakeholders where they feel that we're working with them to drive, improvement and support them in their improvement efforts.

B

We would like providers to make to feel clearer on the standards that we expect of them and we'd, like those providers to know where to go to get the help they need to improve, and ultimately, if all of those things are true, we hope that this leads to better higher quality care for people who use services.

A

Tanty is there anything you'd like to add to that? No.

C

I I think that's right, um as jillian has said. Ultimately, this is all about improving services for the people who use them. um So what we want to be doing is building those stronger partnerships, whether that's that's with um providers or with different organizations depending on the sector, uh whether it's us who's delivering a bit of that improvement activity or whether we're working with others and all the different levers we might use to make that happen.

C

But I think ultimately, it's all based around improving and strengthening those relationships and collaborations and then leading to improvements in care.

A

Great thanks so we're still developing the strategy and we're still developing this theme, um and we really want to hear feedback from providers, people who work in health and social care and and anyone else who wants to feed in if they could um answer any particular questions for us or give us any particular feedback. What is it you both would think would be most useful for them to um to tell us or let us know, um tanzy. Can I start with you. I think.

C

There's a number of things that that probably have come out of some of the discussion we've had today. um We're really interested to know what people think our role should be in supporting improvement. um What are the different things we could do? That would be. That would really help providers and that are consistent with our role um are consistent with what other partners might be doing.

C

um Should we be doing a bit more or should we be staying more or less where we are with with perhaps just some sort of more minor changes? We we'd love to hear people's views on that and within that, are there differences between sectors?

C

So should our approach differ for adult social care than it does in the nhs, for example, um because we we think there probably are quite big differences in how services access support in those different sectors, and we would really like to know what we can best do um and how that needs to vary across sectors.

C

A

Is there anything you'd like to add.

B

I think that they are the main things that we'd like to get feedback on. I think within that there is something about for particular stakeholders who have a role in improvement, how they think that we can work with them and alongside them and to make added benefit, add a difference and an added benefit and where cqc could bring something. That's unique and different to this um space so that we are um adding to and collaborating with them and to achieve what they want to um see happen in the health and social care system.

C

And I suppose, just just to add to that sam as well, which perhaps we haven't sort of specifically mentioned.

C

um Clearly there is the sort of potential for for some tension between our role as a regulator and playing a more supportive role and we'd be really interested to hear from people how they think we might um manage that tension or quite where, on that spectrum, we we need to be sitting.

A

Great thanks both for joining me today and thanks everyone for listening to this podcast. If you'd like to find out more information about our strategy in this particular theme, you can, in the episode description and on our digital engagement platform, citizen lab, and you can also give us feedback to help us develop. This work, look out for more episodes on our strategy and other topics coming soon.

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