19th August 2010

Care Quality Commission publishes NHS guide

Following the introduction of a new law, all NHS hospitals in England must now be licensed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). To be licensed hospitals must show that they are meeting new essential standards of quality and safety. The CQC continuously monitors them to make sure standards are kept or improvement action is taken. Now the CQC has published a leaflet which informs patients, their carers and families, what they can expect from the essential standards. Called What standards to expect from the regulation of your NHS hospital, the leaflet also explains how important it is that patients or their carers tell the regulator about their experiences, both good and bad, to help the CQC make the right decisions.

At the same time, the CQC website publishes an up-to-date directory of all licensed NHS hospitals. You can now look up the current status of any NHS hospital trust in England.

The licensing of NHS hospitals is just the first step in a programme which will see new essential standards of quality and safety gradually rolled out across all health and adult social care services in England. In October this year all adult social care services must be licensed by the CQC and providers must demonstrate they are meeting essential standards of quality and safety; so too must all providers of independent healthcare. You can find out more about the programme and how it affects the care you and your family receives by visiting the CQC’s website. Or you can contact the Care Quality Commission on 03000 616161.

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