RCP comment on Health Select Committee reports on CQC and Monitor
Commenting on the Health Select Committee’s reports on the Care Quality Commission and on Monitor, Sir Richard Thompson, president of the Royal College of Physicians said:
‘Raising quality across the NHS is essential. The focus on quality must not be lost in this period of efficiency savings and reform. The RCP is pleased that CQC’s and Monitor’s licensing processes will be ‘joined-up’. The RCP does not want artificial divides to emerge between economic regulation and the regulation of quality of care. This could lead to a bureaucratic and disconnected system in which ‘competition’ trumps quality of services and patient care.
‘It is crucial for clinical advice and patient involvement to be embedded into CQC’s and Monitor’s processes. Doctors working on hospital wards and in primary care understand their patients’ needs and can advise health care regulators accordingly.
‘We also urge the government to plan for the eventual recommendations from the current Francis Inquiry to be embedded in the regulatory process. The Inquiry’s report is expected later this year.’
ENDS
Notes:
1. The RCP exists to raise standards and improve quality for patients across the NHS. No other body offers such a full range of evidence based quality guidance; we perform audits, issue clinical guidance, conduct clinical effectiveness studies, provide accreditation and write clinical pathways. The RCP is ready and willing to help embed improvement into commissioning and standards overall, particularly in this period of reorganisation in the health service.
For more information please contact:
Lisa Cunningham, Senior public affairs and PR officer
External Affairs, Communications Department, Royal College of Physicians
lisa.cunningham@rcplondon.ac.uk Direct line +44 (0)20 30751468 Mobile 07990745610
Lisa Cunningham | Senior Public Affairs and PR Officer
External Affairs, Communications Department | Royal College of Physicians
11 St Andrews Place | Regent’s Park | London NW1 4LE
Direct line +44 (0)20 30751468 | Mobile 07990745610 | Fax +44 (0)20 7486 5425
www.rcplondon.ac.uk
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