Coronavirus: NHS needs inspections restarted ‘like a hole in the head’, say health leaders

NHS leaders have criticised plans for the health watchdog to resume checks on services that are still reeling from the coronavirus crisis.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has confirmed it plans to restart inspections of hospitals, care homes and GP surgeries in the autumn.

In an interview with The Independent on Wednesday, the CQC’s chief inspector of hospitals raised particular concerns about the situation in A&E departments.

Prof Ted Baker warned action was needed now by the NHS to avoid a winter crisis if annual surges in illness combined with the continuing virus pandemic.

But Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sectors, said: “We need a new wave of inspections like we need a hole in the head.

“The NHS is embarking on what could well be the most challenging period in its history and this will not help.

“Health leaders recognise the important role of regulation – it can shine a light on good and bad practice, it holds service to account for quality and value for money.

“But the absence of routine inspections over the last three months has created a period of respite as staff have struggled to beat this virus. That battle is not over.

“Indeed, a set of bigger challenges remain – dealing with the backlog of care, continuing to treat thousands with coronavirus and being prepared for another surge and what will be a very difficult winter.

“We need first to learn the lessons of this period before jumping back into the old inspection regime.

“Let’s not rush back to the way things were. We will seek to work with the CQC to make sure the views of our members inform their thinking on the future approach to regulation and inspection.”

Latest figures reveal calls over concerns from staff working in adult social care services during the pandemic, which includes the hard-pressed care homes sector, rose 55 per cent to 2,600 compared to 2019 in the three months to the end of May.

Around a quarter of these concerned shortages of personal protective equipment and other infection control measures.

In response to problems, inspectors have carried out 17 on-site checks of adult care services, 12 in hospital services and three in primary care, which includes GPs.

The CQC said: “We are pleased the NHS Confederation are actively seeking to work with us on our future approach to regulation.”

It said since it suspended routine inspections due to the pandemic earlier this year it had continued to carry out checks where concerns were raised. Routine checks on services are due to resume in the autumn.

The CQC said the voices of staff were crucial to understanding quality of care on the frontline and listening to them would be key to fighting infection.

Its chief inspector of adult social care, Kate Terroni, said: “Staff have been going to extraordinary lengths to deliver good, safe care during this global crisis – if they are experiencing barriers to the delivery of that care, we want to hear from them and we are encouraged that so many staff have been brave enough to raise concerns with us.”

Prof Baker told The Independent the NHS could not carry on as before and investment was urgently needed in emergency departments rather than leaving them as a “waiting area” for hospitals.

“If we are going to do something about it, we need to act now, not at the beginning of winter,” he said.

“I think next winter is going to be very difficult, unless emergency departments and the whole system supporting emergency departments do things very differently.”

He said the CQC was also concerned about patients being “forgotten”, with NHS waiting lists expected to surge to 10 million this year.