Sharing insight, asking questions, encouraging collaboration: CQC publishes first insight document on COVID-19 pressures

Today, we publish the first of what will be a regular series of insight documents intended to highlight COVID-19 related pressures on the sectors that CQC regulates.  

This document draws on information gathered through direct feedback from staff and people receiving care, our new regular data collection from services who provide care for people in their own homes, and insight from our regular conversations with providers and partners.  

The information we collect from these sources is being used to understand the wider impact of COVID-19, to share regular updates with local, regional, and national system partners and the Department of Health and Social Care, and to highlight any emerging trends and issues.  

Our Emergency Support Framework, developed for use while COVID-19 continues to impact our routine inspections, provides a structure for the conversations that we’re having with providers - and for the escalation of concerns either to inform system partners, to target additional support and resource, or to trigger inspections. 

This first insight document focuses on adult social care: reviewing data on outbreaks, deaths and availability of PPE, and in particular highlighting the impact of COVID-19 on staff wellbeing and the financial viability of adult social care services. 

It describes the need – now more acute than ever – for whole system working across different sectors to ensure safer care. It also outlines future areas of focus, including infection control both within and between services, how local systems are engaging social care organisations in the management of COVID-19, and how care for people from vulnerable groups is being managed through the crisis. 

Ian Trenholm said: "This new insight document begins to gather together what providers are telling us about the impact of COVID-19 – information gathered through direct feedback from staff and people receiving care, from our new regular data collection from services who provide care for people in their own homes, and insight from our regular conversations with providers and partners.

"We’re already sharing this information with local, regional and national system partners to help target support – and using it to take action to keep people safe where needed. Where providers are reporting pressures and challenges, we want to increase visibility and ask questions about what needs to happen to help alleviate them.   

"This is very much a developing product – it will undoubtably change and evolve with future publications. We don’t have all the answers, but we want to share what we know to help find solutions – because we are all now operating in an environment where the need to act quickly and collaboratively has never been more important."