A former GP who now works to support carers has warned that Care Quality Commission failings mean when it comes to North East care homes, families should be "beware".
Dr Jackie Gray was speaking in response to news that an independent review has found the CQC, which inspects hospitals and care homes, is "not fit for purpose". Dr Gray - who founded online platform the Carents Room - said analysis of inspection data suggested a huge 40% of North East care homes were awaiting inspection or had been rated as inadequate or requires improvment.
It comes after Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the CQC, which regulates all NHS and care services in England, was not fit for purpose. Nationally, around one in five CQC services are currently uninspected - Dr Gray said this gap in information meant those seeking home-care were in a difficult situation.
The former South Tyneside GP and public health specialist added: "Britain is aging as a society, so as more people need support, both they and their families deserve the peace of mind that comes with knowing that they can access decent home care services. Sadly, our recent analysis shows that this level of reassurance is missing for many home care services in the North East and Yorkshire, so we hope the new Government can act swiftly to repair both the broken care system and the NHS."
According to the CQC, there are 1,662 home care services for older adults in the North East and Yorkshire. Of those, just 987 have been rated either good or outstanding by the regulator and 507 have not yet been rated. The CQC's aim is to inspect all care providers within a year of opening.
When the report was published last week, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was "stunned” by the scale of the problem. The CQC has said it accepted the findings in full.
Dr Gray said a "good" CQC rating should be the "bare minimum". She said: "Often people enter care suddenly, after illness, injury or a hospital stay, so it is vital that adult carers – or carents – can know that the service is up-to-scratch. Usually they don’t have the luxury of shopping around, and even when they do, the preferred service isn’t always available - so they have to resort to other options."
Dr Gray launched the Carents Room with the idea of helping adult carers to navigate the care landscape - it provides "information and guidance on everything from finances to navigating the NHS". Dr Gray added: "Our message to anybody arranging home care services for an older person is very much buyer beware.
"Make sure you ask the home care team’s management when the service was last inspected, what the inspection rating was, and read the inspection reports in detail on the CQC’s website."
Kate Terroni, interim chief executive of the CQC, said last week: "We accept in full the findings and recommendations in the interim review. We know that these recommendations chime with what we have already heard from the public, providers and our own workforce.
"They align with the key areas we have prioritised as part of our work to restore trust with the public and providers. We know we need to listen better, work together more collaboratively and be honest about what we’ve got wrong. We are now working at pace and in consultation with providers, our stakeholders and CQC staff to rebuild that trust and become the strong, credible, and effective regulator of health and care services that the public and providers need and deserve."
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