The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published its new public engagement strategy setting out how it will listen, inform and involve people in its work.
Supporting the organisational strategy previously published by the regulator in 2021, the new strategy also sets out how the CQC will work in partnership with organisations that represent people.
Public engagement strategy increases CQC visibility
Britain’s care watchdog last published a public engagement strategy in 2017. They say that they have made “significant progress” since this publication, citing the following figures regarding awareness of the CQC and its activities:
- Public awareness of the CQC has increased from 51% in 2016 to 67% in 2021
- Unprompted public awareness has increased from 17% in 2016 to 36% in 2021
- Submissions to the CQC’s Give Feedback on Care Service doubled from 61,000 in 2016 to 123,000 in 2021
- The number of people using their information about the quality of care has increased by 20%
The CQC says they have also made the NHS Patient Survey Programme more accessible and now hear from 150,000-200,000 people a year through this mechanism.
New strategy focuses on a trusted, accessible and inclusive approach
The new strategy runs until 2026 and includes four key objectives:
- Build a trusted feedback service where people’s experiences drive improvements in care – the care watchdog says it wants people to be able to provide feedback about their experiences of accessing, using and moving between care services, wherever and however they want to do this. Further, their aim is to ensure that people understand the impact of their feedback, and feel confident that it is valued.
- Create a trusted, accessible public information service designed around people’s expectations and needs – the CQC is focused on ensuring that the information it provides is relevant, up-to-date, meaningful and truly reflective of the experiences of people who use care services. Information should be easy to access and help people make informed decisions about where to go to access care and support.
- Develop an inclusive approach to proactively involving people who use services, their family, carers and organisations that represent or act on their behalf in shaping our plans, policies and products – the regulator is looking to include a broader range of people and organisations that represent them when developing plans, policies and products. In particular, they want to ensure that people who are statistically more likely to have a poorer experience of care and who may face inequalities to be involved in shaping their work.
- Work in partnership with organisations that represent or act on behalf of people who use services to improve care – a key aim of the CQC is to forge high-quality relationships with organisations that represent people who use care services, or who act on their behalf. They say these partnerships are “fundamental to maintaining trust and confidence with the public and to delivering our strategic ambitions.”
The CQC’s public engagement strategy for 2023-26 includes an implementation plan which sets out the timescales and success measures for their objectives. The regulator will monitor their progress on implementing these objectives and will report publicly on its progress.
Public engagement strategy vital for high quality care
In an introduction to the strategy, the CQC explains:
“To deliver high-quality care, it is vital to listen to, understand and act on the experiences and needs of people who use health and care services. This applies to those who provide and organise care services as well as to CQC as the regulator.
“Engaging with people enables us to improve how we do our job, and to build trust and confidence with the public. Information from people’s experiences helps us to make better assessments of the quality of care and provide better information about them. It also improves how we monitor the rights of people who are detained under the Mental Health Act.
“For this to work well, we need to get better at how we encourage and enable people to engage with us. This includes people who use services, their families and unpaid carers, and organisations that represent them or act on their behalf. It particularly applies to people who are more likely to have a poorer experience of care and who may face inequalities.”
Quality care training and support
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A Trainer at FRT, says:
“Care providers deliver much-needed support for some of the most vulnerable people in society, and so its vital that these people and their loved ones can provide feedback on the care they receive and whether it is meeting these needs. It’s important that everyone has a voice and can help to shape the future of care.”
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