CQC is still failing to meet its own performance targets for carrying out inspections. The report tabled for discussion at CQC’s forthcoming board meeting this week will show that it carried out 83.3% of the total number of inspections it forecast that it would in January.
Further still in relation to GP’s inspections it only carried out 65% of the planned 600 inspections in this sector.
CQC’s failing to meet its own deadlines has become something of an expectation. Since April 2015 it increased the number of inspections required by almost 25% for adult social care and almost 60% for GPs.
CQC is also failing on completing registration processes and cancellation processes within 50 days with the figure of 73% for both, falling short of its 90% target. CQC has stated that the failure to meet these targets could be due to a backlog created in 2014 as well as the increasing complexity of some cases.
Perhaps these failings by the regulator are caused by an overly optimistic and ambitious regime or a leadership out of touch with the realities on the ground. Of particular importance to a sector which is dealing with a shortage of suppliers and excess demand is the inability of the registrations team to manage their processes to turnaround applications positively or negatively under 50 days.
With a regulator that demands only the highest standards of the sector that it regulates surely it should hold itself to the same exacting standards and do what is necessary to ensure that it meets the targets it has set itself in the future.
