Is it about policies?

"Absolutely not. We are much less interested in policies and protocols than in knowing what care is like for your patients, whether staff know what to do about things like child protection, and so on. Good practices shouldn’t need to do anything they aren’t already doing."

Professor David Haslam, National Clinical Adviser to the Care Quality Commission
(Interview in Healthcare Leader News May 2012)

"We won’t normally spend a great deal of time reading policy or procedure documents, unless we need to look at them to substantiate other evidence or what staff or patients have told us about their experiences."

James Hedges, media officer at the CQC (statement to MDDUS May 2013)

This is where the CQC focus their inspections:-

• Experiences people have when they receive care and the impact the care has on their health and well-being.
• Talking to patients, their families and their carers.
• Looking at records or speaking with staff and how they reach their judgements.