CQC and The Patients Association seek feedback on elderly care

Categories: Community Engagement.

The Patients Association currently receives more than 8,000 calls every year about elderly care. The Patients Association’s network of volunteers will now pass on concerns from people who contact them to the CQC, so that they can take appropriate action. They are also encouraging more people to report their experiences of elderly care.

The collaboration is the result of pilot schemes run in 2012, where The Patients Association and The Relatives and Residents Association passed on information of concerns they received via their helplines by filling in coded ‘Share your experience’ CQC webforms. 26% of the information received was positive and the majority the information received was considered helpful by the CQC for monitoring and inspection planning. 10% of the feedback prompted the CQC to contact the provider, and 4% prompted the CQC to contact another agency to check whether the incident was already known about.

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of The Patients Association, said: “Health and care services must listen to the public when they complain about the quality of care they receive. Every day patients and relatives contact our helpline to report poor care. Working with the CQC is important in driving improvements in the care experienced by patients, wherever it is identified.”

David Behan, chief executive of the Care Quality Commission, said: “We rely on information from the public to help us target our inspections. This important resource helps us to protect and promote the quality and safety of the care patients receive.

“Our valuable partnership with The Patients Association will focus on gathering the experiences of elderly people and their families. As a number of recent reports, including our own State of Care report, have highlighted, there is a clear need to drive improvements to the care older people receive.”

The Patients Association Helpline number is 0845 608 4455. The Care Quality Commission can be contacted on 03000 61 61 61.

More information about the collaboration can be found on the CQC website.

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