Patient Association is Critical of CQC’s Proposed New Role

The Patients Association has stated that reports to change the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC’s) role to regulate council management of social care are “promising, but not enough” to save a system in crisis.

It is anticipated that in the Spring budget the CQC will be asked to oversee the spending of additional funds for adult social care, something the CQC itself has not commented on, but which the Patient Association has grave concerns about.

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: “The emerging reports of additional money for social care and a new role for the CQC are promising, but may not be enough.

The government can’t regulate its way out of a care crisis. The only solution will be a sustained reversal of the deep cuts to social care we have seen over recent years.”

Murphy was positive about the CQC’s proposed role as overseer, adding: “We know that local authorities have been largely unable to implement the Care Act fully since it came into force, and have to balance social care against their other responsibilities.

“However, talk of ‘short-term stabilisation money’ in next month’s Budget is concerning. The care sector is not merely unstable – it is in crisis, and proper funding is the only possible solution. We will be watching the chancellor’s Budget closely, and hope to hear a positive announcement securing the future of social care for people who need it throughout England.”