Care Quality Commission

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The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of all health and social care services in England. They began operating on 1st April 2009 and replaced 3 earlier commissions: The Health Care Commission, the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Mental Health Act Commission. Their role is to make sure that healthcare services meet national standards of quality and safety. These standards cover all aspects of care, including treating people with dignity and respect, ensuring that their environment is clean and safe and that all organisations are effectively managing their staff and services.

All service providers must be checked by the CQC that they meet the standards and have named ‘Registered Managers’ in place.

The CQC will conduct regular inspections to ensure these standards continue to be met and take action when they do not. The CQC may issue fines or warnings, stop admission into care services and suspend or cancel a care service’s registration.