At the beginning of this year CQC re-introduced post-inspection letters for all routine NHS inspections. This came shortly after CQC were criticised by the Public Accounts Committee for not publishing inspection outcomes quickly enough which meant “the public do not have timely information to make informed decisions about their care”.
Since April, included is now the explicit expectation that these letters are made public. Ian Trenholm, CQC Chief Executive, has also said the regulator reserves the right to publish the letters if Trusts do not.
The letters are only to be sent after full routine inspections and not focused inspections. Private hospitals, GPs and adult social care providers will not be sent post-inspection letters.
