CQC: From Portal Gate to Proportionality – Significant Updates to the Single Valuation Framework

It is really heartening to see the CQC developing the Single Assessment Framework (“SAF”) in response to feedback.

Many care providers provide services that were rated ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ in pre-SAF inspections, often dating back to 2019 or earlier. . As the SAF rolls out, we have supported clients to raise serious concerns following their initial CQC SAF assessment. During that time, CQC focused only on 7 to 10 quality statements. This means that the rating has not changed, even though significant improvements have been noted. .

This is because the initial score calculation takes into account such a small number of quality statements, making it mathematically impossible to improve the rating, even if the ratings for those quality statements are positive. It’s because of it.

On 26 March, CQC Chief Executive Ian Trenholm published a blog containing: “Of course, every service is different, so the amount of work required to review or change your rating will vary depending on where you start. service is it insufficient or Requires Improvement All quality statements rated inadequate or requiring improvement under key questions are reviewed. A provider with many key questions rated as requiring improvement will require significantly more work to be re-rated as good than one with one key question rated as requiring improvement. has always been true. The new approach will still do that, but it will reduce the amount of work per assessment for important questions. Our new approach will give providers the opportunity to perform that work in smaller work packages, in shorter time frames, on-site and off-site, with less disruption. ”

Services with an existing overall rating of ‘Requires Improvement’ or ‘Insufficient’ will have their quality statement updated by CQC for each of the key questions previously rated ‘Requires Improvement’ or ‘Insufficient’. can now be expected to be evaluated.

This is great news and an opportunity for services that have not yet been rated under the SAF and whose business has been impacted by past ratings of less than good overall. It also means that he can consider what evidence he will present to the CQC prior to the assessment, as these services are aware that the CQC will at least assess these quality statements as a minimum. .

In time, it is hoped that as CQC makes further progress, this will be a starting point for CQC to reconsider how it chooses the quality declarations it assesses and whether published SAF reports are reflective of its services.

One of the broader issues is when a service has historically been rated Good overall in one key question that requires improvement, but at the time of the SAF assessment CQC has I chose not to rate it. Already published SAF reports are generally good, but a well-guided key question maintains the ‘requires improvement’ rating from the 2019 inspection and the 2024 assessment date. has been updated.

There are so many challenges with the new CQC portal, and while it is unfortunate that the rollout did not go as planned, it is encouraging that CQC has recognized this so quickly and that the ‘portal gate’ Let’s hope it gets resolved soon.

SAF is an opportunity for CQC to make a different assessment and has a lot of potential. Over time, we expect this to also include accurate date display, adequate transparency of judgments, and fair opportunities for rating changes.

contact

Our team of specialist care lawyers will support providers to deal with the CQC changes. For further updates, please join our mailing list here or contact us on 01202 786135 or CQC@la-law.com.