CQC seeks views on its new approach to regulating dental, independent healthcare and ambulance services

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is asking people who run and use health and care services for views on the regulator’s plans for inspecting primary care dental services, and inspecting and rating ambulance and independent healthcare services.

Following the earlier roll-out of CQC’s new inspection approach for general practice, out-of-hours GP services, adult social care and in NHS acute hospitals, three consultations are launched today (Friday 28 November) to seek views on CQC’s plans for inspecting dental, ambulance and independent healthcare services.

CQC Chief Executive David Behan said:

"We have been carrying out new style of inspections in hospitals, mental health and community health services, adult social care services and GP practices over the past year.

“Now we are setting out the changes we are proposing to make to the way we regulate dental services, ambulance services and independent healthcare services that will help us to make sure that they provide safe, high-quality care.

“We want to hear what professionals, clinicians and members of the public think of these proposals."

Due to the view that people using primary care dental services are less likely to experience poor care, CQC proposes to inspect 10% of providers using random and risk-based inspections as well as inspecting in response to concerns. CQC does not intend to rate primary care dental services in 2015/16.

The consultation asks for views on these elements of the new approach and if people think that the approach will help dental practices to improve, for example by reporting on good practice.

The CQC propose to divide the independent acute healthcare sector into three distinct groups which are ‘hospitals’, ‘single-specialty services’ and ‘non-hospital acute services’.

The approach they are proposing for the hospitals group closely follows the model used for NHS acute trust hospitals, with some modifications to take account of the differences between them.
They are proposing other, tailored approaches for the single-specialty services and non-hospital acute services. The CQC are asking whether the sector agrees with these approaches.

They are also asking for views on whether special measures should be introduced into the independent healthcare sector and whether there should be a rating at corporate provider level for independent healthcare providers.

For ambulance providers (both NHS and independent services) the CQC will also take a similar approach to that of acute services to check if the services are safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs and well-led. This will help us to give NHS ambulances a rating of either outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.