Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator for health care and adult social care services in England.

Our purpose is to make sure health and social care services, including hospitals, care homes, dental and GP surgeries, and all other care services in England, provide people with safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care, and we encourage them to make improvements.

We do this by inspecting services and publishing the results on our website to help you make better decisions about the care you receive.

We carry out our role by:

• setting standards of quality and safety that people have a right to expect whenever they receive care;
• registering care services that meet our standards;
• monitoring, inspecting and regulating care services to make sure that they continue to meet the standards;
• protecting the rights of vulnerable people, including those whose rights are restricted under the Mental Health Act;
• listening to and acting on people’s views and experiences of the care they receive;
• challenging all providers, with the worst performers getting the most attention;
• making fair and authoritative judgements, supported by the best information and evidence;
• taking appropriate action if care services are failing to meet the standards;
• carrying out in-depth investigations to look at care across the system;
• reporting on the quality of care services, publishing clear and comprehensive information, including performance ratings to help people choose care; and
• involving people who use care services in our work, working with local groups, our partners in the health and social care system, and the public to make sure that people’s views and experiences are at the centre of what we do.

To find out more about CQC and our work:

Visit our website:  www.cqc.org.uk

Or contact our National Customer Service Centre:

By email: enquiries@cqc.org.uk

By telephone: 03000 616161

Or write to us:

CQC National Customer Service Centre
Citygate
Gallowgate
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4PA