Care Quality Commission

The Role of Care Quality Commission

The Role of Care Quality Commission is to make sure that hospitals, care homes, dental and general practices and other care services in England provide people with safe, effective and high-quality care, and we encourage them to improve.

CQC work in the following ways:
• Making sure services meet fundamental standards that people have a right to expect whenever they receive care.
• Registering care services that meet our standards.
• Monitoring, inspecting and regulating care services to make sure that they continue to meet the standards.
• Protecting the rights of vulnerable people, including those whose rights are restricted under the Mental Health Act.
• Listening to and acting on your experiences.
• Involving the public and people who receive care in our work and working in partnership with other organisations and local groups.
• Challenging all providers, with the worst performers getting the most attention.
• Making fair and authoritative judgments, supported by the best information and evidence.
• Taking appropriate action if care services are failing to meet fundamental standards of quality and safety.
• Carrying out in-depth investigations to look at care across the system.
• Reporting on the quality of care services, publishing clear and comprehensive information, including performance ratings to help people choose care.