The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England.
They make sure that health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and encourage care services to put people’s needs at the heart of what they do.
All providers of regulated health and adult social care services must be registered with the CQC and they must meet the essential standards of quality and safety.
Registration with the CQC is a legal requirement. This means that providers of regulated health and social care services must be registered with the CQC before they can operate.
The CQC registration is a way of making sure that services meet certain standards.
Registration with the CQC is not a quality mark or accreditation.
The CQC carries out regular inspections of registered health and social care services.
Inspection teams check whether services are meeting the essential standards of quality and safety.
If a service is not meeting one or more of the essential standards, the CQC will take action to make sure that the service improves.
The CQC publishes inspection reports and ratings to help people choose care.
Provider’s registration with the CQC is valid for a period of three years.
Before the end of this period, the provider will need to reapply for registration.