Provider ratings: the effects of the Care Quality Commission’s inspection and rating system on health and social care services

Amongst public concerns regarding the value and viability of health and social care services, effective independent regulation to ensure high quality care for services users is vitally important.

Researchers based in the Health Management Group part of the Alliance Manchester Business School’s Health Services Research Centre at Alliance Manchester Business School and the School of Health Sciences, in collaboration with The King’s Fund, are involved in a project examining how health and social care services, the public and other stakeholders respond to the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) inspection and rating of services, and what impacts this has on the quality of care and on improving performance.

Over the past two years, the team has co-designed research in partnership with the Department of Health, the CQC, Healthwatch and a Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) steering group to evaluate the regulatory model and inspection regime. The team’s research has identified eight distinct but interconnected pathways to impact that have been shared with CQC and the Department of Health.

These findings will soon also be shared with providers to help them improve their services, support the further development of CQC policy and practice, and increase the effectiveness of provider ratings systems across health and social care.