News
PEN Contributes to Review of the CQC’s Assessment Framework
Share this page
How PEN shared key insights into how the CQC should assess health and care services in England
Thank you to all PEN members and members of the PEN Advisory Group for Autistic People and People with a Learning Disability who shared their insights into the Care Quality Commission (CQC)’s assessment framework.
About CQC’s Assessment Framework
The framework is used to assess and make judgements about the quality of the services of registered providers, and where applicable to give a rating.
Following the independent review from Dr Penny Dash, the CQC are testing and refining their proposed assessment approach, to ensure it is inclusive, informed by evidence and geared toward continuous improvement.
They are moving away from their single assessment framework and are working to ensure that the framework will reflect the priorities set out in their organisational strategy. They aim to support regulation to:
• be driven by people’s experiences
• push for equity of access, experience and outcomes
• enable stronger safety cultures, prioritising learning and improvement.
5 key questions will remain within the framework and will be asked of all health and social care services. All services will be asked whether they are safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs and well-led.
For Autistic People and People with a Learning Disability
Paula Eaton, Deputy Director and Sara Frost, Senior Specialist from the CQC’s People with a Learning Disability and Autism team joined our advisory group to hear peoples’ voices on how the CQC should assess services used by autistic people and people with a learning disability.
The group explored the issue of inclusion within the CQC’s inspections of services. members highlighted that autistic people and people with a learning disability are not always recognised by services themselves, creating a barrier to their inclusion in inspections. Digital flags were highlighted as a possible method to overcome this. Paula Eaton said that the CQC could help raise awareness of the digital flag system and said that the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) describes how care services should meet people’s information and communication needs.
Experts by Experience was highlighted as a way for autistic people and people with a learning disability to be involved in every stage of the CQC inspections.
Group members suggested that accessible information about how CQC inspections work should be shared to raise awareness of them.
They said both parts of the Oliver McGowan training should be used to hold the CQC and services to account because there is a diverse range of communication needs and preferences in people who have lived experience of autism and learning disabilities. Tier 2 of the training was deemed particularly important due to its emphasis on lived experience.
The need for person-centred care was highlighted, and it was suggested that the CQC inspect how services communicate with the people using them, especially where they have outreach support.
Insight from PEN Members
PEN members shared their insights on the same theme in February’s meeting.
Safety issues were raised as requiring the highest priority for the CQC. Inclusion is vital for safety to ensure voices are being heard, and this means the CQC also needs awareness that inspections are only a snapshot view of a service, and that staff and people who use services are likely to act differently when under observation.
Many members highlighted the need for accessible language and information. Easy Read was identified as being of benefit to everyone.
It was argued that transparency in the reviewed assessment framework would help people who use services and staff to feel more comfortable during inspections.
AI and technology were identified as being useful accessibility tools, but that they should not be used at the expense of human interaction.
Members also highlighted the need for inspectors to understand the diversity of individuals who use services, including in terms of cultural awareness.
PEN Autistic People and People with a Learning Disability's Advisory Group
The Public Engagement Network invites autistic people and people with learning disabilities to join our Advisory Group
Read more
