Responsibility for regulating and monitoring compliance

Accepted in principle.
A range of guidance, indicators and measures will be provided to support the implementation of quality standards. Guidance, technology appraisals and standards provided by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence make an essential and key contribution to how the Care Quality Commission assesses the quality of NHS services, alongside bodies accredited by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and other appropriate sources of guidance and standards. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Care Quality Commission and NHS England will work together on the objective of ensuring that authoritative guidance is available on fundamental and enhanced standards. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence already develops indicators to go alongside quality standards, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and NHS England develop tools to support commissioners in commissioning for quality.
The Department of Health will shortly consult on new regulations that will set out fundamental standards of care. The Care Quality Commission will then consult on sector-specific statutory guidance for providers that it will take into account when enforcing those regulations, including prosecution, and how it decides a rating. In this guidance the Care Quality Commission will signpost guidance and measures by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and other appropriate bodies.

The Thirlwall Inquiry has noted action taken following the conclusion of the Mid-Staffordshire Inquiry 2013.

The existing MoU between NICE and CQC (dated April 2021), sets out the framework to support the working relationships between the two organisations, describing how both organisations will align to support achievable standards for high quality care. It states that CQC and NICE will work together to ensure, where appropriate, there is alignment between NICE guidelines, interventional procedures guidance and quality standards, with the CQC's assessment frameworks. This will encourage achievable improvements in the provision of safe and high-quality care and treatment (paragraph 13).

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has introduced developmental statements in its quality standards where appropriate. Between June and September 2014 it published the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quality standards - the process guide, a consultation on its updated quality standards process guide which made detailed proposals for how developmental statements would be identified and produced.

At the end of 2014, the Care Quality Commission and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published a Memorandum of Understanding that sets out how the two organisations work in partnership to encourage improvement in the quality of care. This includes the guidance, advice and other tools that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence provides for the health and care system, the support the Care Quality Commission provides for the development and implementation of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, quality standards and indicators, and the support the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence provides to the Care Quality Commission in order for the Care Quality Commission to fulfil its role in the regulation of health and social care services.

In July 2014, the Care Quality Commission consulted providers, health care professionals and other key stakeholders on proposed guidance on meeting new fundamental standards regulations. The draft guidance referenced the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s technology appraisals, guidelines and quality standards. The Care Quality Commission has published final guidance on how organisations may comply with the duty of candour and the fit and proper person requirement for NHS bodies which came into force in November 2014. The Care Quality Commission will publish guidance on meet the remaining fundamental standards prior to them coming into force in April 2015.

This recommendation was accepted by the Government in principle.

In the January 2014 Hard Truths report, the Government referred to the introduction by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence of developmental statements in its quality standards where appropriate.

In the February 2015 Culture Change report, the Government also referred to the 2014 Memorandum of Understanding between the Care Quality Commission and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which set out areas of cooperation between the two organisations, including development of guidance, advice and other tools by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and the Care Quality Commission’s support for the development of such guidance, quality standards and indicators.