Describing **i**’s findings as “alarming”, health and social care groups said the CQC must urgently improve its own standards.
Paul Whiteing, chief executive of the Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA) patient safety campaign group, said the details “paint a picture of a regulator that is in crisis”.
He added that he expected “tangible improvements to be delivered quickly”, after the CQC’s new interim chief executive Kate Terroni promised to listen to staff, boost the number of inspections, and clarify how its ratings were calculated.
Dr Naru Narayanan, president of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA), said the CQC “needs to get its act together”.
The head of the doctors’ union added: “The fact we have had these reports of total chaos behind closed doors do not give confidence to medical staff that it is focusing on the right things with the right skills when inspectors appear in our hospitals.”
Nadra Ahmed, chair of the National Care Organisation, which represents small and medium-size care providers, said the details revealed by the regulator’s staff were “hugely disappointing”, and called for “root and branch” reform.
Mike Padgham, chair of the Independent Care Group (ICG), which represents care homes in York and north Yorkshire, said the “latest revelations by whistleblowers are alarming and tell a story of an organisation in crisis”.
Astounding there needs to be a report in this, given that record delays and hospital deaths are a concern for almost every NHS patient, and have been for a number of years now. You only have to look at the fact that it’s a lucky dip for getting an ambulance, I can’t imagine the pressure the NHS staff must feel working in those conditions.
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The watchdog that inspects England’s [NHS](https://inews.co.uk/topic/nhs?ico=in-line_link) hospitals, [GPs](https://inews.co.uk/topic/gps?ico=in-line_link) and [care homes](https://inews.co.uk/topic/care-homes?ico=in-line_link) must “get its act together”, patient safety experts have said after **i**’s “shocking” investigation into the organisation.
Whistleblowers at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) told **i** that [the regulator had been left in a “mess” by a major restructure](https://inews.co.uk/news/nhs-cqc-whistleblowers-safety-assessments-risk-public-3241589?ico=in-line_link) that could pose a serious risk to patients.
CQC staff said the restructure had gone “horribly wrong”, leading to confusion over roles, a slower assessment process and a backlog of inspections. One staff member said [waits of over five years between inspections](https://inews.co.uk/news/health/nhs-hospitals-not-inspected-10-years-regulator-blamed-3189915?ico=in-line_link) was “common”.
Describing **i**’s findings as “alarming”, health and social care groups said the CQC must urgently improve its own standards.
Paul Whiteing, chief executive of the Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA) patient safety campaign group, said the details “paint a picture of a regulator that is in crisis”.
He added that he expected “tangible improvements to be delivered quickly”, after the CQC’s new interim chief executive Kate Terroni promised to listen to staff, boost the number of inspections, and clarify how its ratings were calculated.
Dr Naru Narayanan, president of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA), said the CQC “needs to get its act together”.
The head of the doctors’ union added: “The fact we have had these reports of total chaos behind closed doors do not give confidence to medical staff that it is focusing on the right things with the right skills when inspectors appear in our hospitals.”
Nadra Ahmed, chair of the National Care Organisation, which represents small and medium-size care providers, said the details revealed by the regulator’s staff were “hugely disappointing”, and called for “root and branch” reform.
Mike Padgham, chair of the Independent Care Group (ICG), which represents care homes in York and north Yorkshire, said the “latest revelations by whistleblowers are alarming and tell a story of an organisation in crisis”.
Astounding there needs to be a report in this, given that record delays and hospital deaths are a concern for almost every NHS patient, and have been for a number of years now. You only have to look at the fact that it’s a lucky dip for getting an ambulance, I can’t imagine the pressure the NHS staff must feel working in those conditions.