HRA Newsletter – October 2026

I was recently certified in a course on Care Quality Commission Regulation & Compliance Awareness which opened the door to a better understanding of what entails the CQC assessment of registering, monitoring, assessing, inspecting, rating and enforcement on repeated findings. With awareness of the challenges the NHS faces to remain compliant, I wanted to better understand the regulatory auditing mechanism in place governed by the Health & Social Care Act, 2008.

Services are  required to register with CQC when providing regulated activities in personal care, nursing care and homes engaged in nursing or personal care for people. The applicable standards cover person-centred care, dignity, consent, safety, safeguarding, staffing, complaints, governance, and duty of care. These are considered minimum standards. 

The CQC asks five questions during assessment:

• Is it safe?
• Is it effective?
• Is it caring?
• Is it responsive?
• Is it well-led?

These are fundamental markers in performing a CQC internal audit.

It is noted that the Single Assessment Framework uses Quality Statements as of 2026 referencing “we” to illustrate what good care looks like. This replaces the KLOE (Key Lines of Enquiry) used in the past. Time will tell if this is a more effective approach.

While is noted that the core of CQC assessment is based on patient experience, equality and human rights, there is also the support to staff in the form of the Provider Information Return as an annual information return outlining how a service identifies its own quality, safety and governance.

The CQC has civil and criminal enforcement recourse to protect people when legal standards are repeatedly not met. This is an established safety mechanism to help protect people in care and assist services in that endeavour. Knowing the CQC is in place to monitor and assess compliance, listen to the complaints raised and work with teams to resolve issues by identifying the gaps is a solid safety measure in place.