THE NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST THE STATE OF HEALTH CARE AND ADULT SOCIAL CARE IN ENGLAND 2014/15 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Attached is the Care Quality Commission’s annual State of Health and Adult Social Care in England 2014/15, which was published on 15th October 2015 and sets out the key findings from the inspection of almost 5,500 registered organisations in primary, secondary and social care, across both NHS and independent/private providers. The report provides a valuable update across the health and care sector. The CQC’s acknowledgement of the increasingly difficult financial climate in which NHS providers and their partners are operating is particularly welcome. The need for a sustained focus on patient safety which is underpinned by robust governance and a culture of learning and improvement is highlighted. Even so, as CQC acknowledges, the funding challenges cannot be ignored if the NHS is to provide sufficient staff to ensure consistently high quality and safe services every day of the week. NHS Providers shall be working with CQC and its member organisations to ensure that the insights in the report are reflected in its forthcoming strategy for quality regulation and to support providers as they strive to improve. In the current climate, it is essential that regulation remains risk-based and proportionate and there is a need to balance institutional accountabilities with a view of the wider issues affecting the local health and care economy. The coverage of the report was on the whole unhelpful and did not reflect the fact that not all providers have yet been inspected. RECOMMENDATION To receive the briefing and note the contents. Steven Reed Trust Secretary 22nd October 2015
THE NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST THE STATE OF HEALTH CARE AND ADULT SOCIAL CARE IN ENGLAND 2014/15 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Attached is the Care Quality Commission’s annual State of Health and Adult Social Care in England 2014/15, which was published on 15th October 2015 and sets out the key findings from the inspection of almost 5,500 registered organisations in primary, secondary and social care, across both NHS and independent/private providers. The report provides a valuable update across the health and care sector. The CQC’s acknowledgement of the increasingly difficult financial climate in which NHS providers and their partners are operating is particularly welcome. The need for a sustained focus on patient safety which is underpinned by robust governance and a culture of learning and improvement is highlighted. Even so, as CQC acknowledges, the funding challenges cannot be ignored if the NHS is to provide sufficient staff to ensure consistently high quality and safe services every day of the week. NHS Providers shall be working with CQC and its member organisations to ensure that the insights in the report are reflected in its forthcoming strategy for quality regulation and to support providers as they strive to improve. In the current climate, it is essential that regulation remains risk-based and proportionate and there is a need to balance institutional accountabilities with a view of the wider issues affecting the local health and care economy. The coverage of the report was on the whole unhelpful and did not reflect the fact that not all providers have yet been inspected. RECOMMENDATION To receive the briefing and note the contents. Steven Reed Trust Secretary 22nd October 2015
Oct_2015_A7iii_State_of_Care_rpt_cover_Oct_2015.docx