A message from James Bullion, Interim Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care and Integrated Care

"We’re well into the festive season now and I want to take this opportunity to reflect on 2023, share my thanks, and consider the year ahead.

Firstly, I want to thank you, and acknowledge the pressures you've been under. It’s been another tough year for everyone working in the health and social care sectors. The cost-of-living crisis is biting harder and workforce challenges have escalated. In some cases, as we highlighted in our annual State of Care report, this is leading to an increased risk of “unfair care”, where access to and quality of care is impacted, resulting in longer waits, reduced access, and poorer outcomes for some.

2024 is a year of new approaches for CQC. By the spring, all regulation will be done against our new assessment framework. I’m grateful to the early adopter organisations who have helped us roll out the new framework effectively. Our focus on health and social care across systems grows too as we begin our programme of full assessments of all local authorities and integrated care systems in England. The aim of our systems assessments is to increase transparency and local accountability. Also to make good practice, positive outcomes and outstanding quality easier to spot locally and share nationally.

Despite significant challenges over the last 12 months, I’ve been pleased to see lots of good and outstanding care this year. We’ve been able to spotlight examples of good and innovative practice that’s helping people, and family carers, access the care and support they need to live full lives. It's really important, and in all our interests, to spread the positive messages about the great work that goes on in social care, and the difference we make in people’s lives, which gives us all our dignity.

The regulatory work we do is rooted in people’s experience of care. It’s a fundamental element of the new single assessment framework and a question we ask of both individual providers and whole systems. That remains a constant in all we – and you – do."