Trust us to support your organisation with CQC compliance to help build and maintain the foundations for safe, effective and well-led care.
Our in-house team of CQC professionals, supported by Clinical Safety, Information Governance and Cyber Security experts, has the skills and experience to guide you through CQC registration and beyond
Unsure whether you need to register with the CQC?
Need to clarify your regulatory status to inform your business strategy? We can help.
Need help registering with the CQC?
Collaborate with us to develop the key documentation, engage with the CQC and register successfully.
Registered organisation looking for feedback?
Allow our team to provide an unbiased opinion of effectiveness providing actionable feedback for remediation.
Looking for ongoing support to ensure compliance?
Work with our expert team to ensure internal alignment and ongoing assurance of compliance.
If you’re providing direct care or ‘regulated activities’ in England, either in-person or digitally, you’ll need to be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. Their role is to ensure that healthcare services provide safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care, whether delivered by the public sector or private providers.
Unsure whether your service is conducting a ‘Regulated Activity’ by the Health and Care Act?
Get in touch to discuss your business plan with a member of our expert team.
Our in-house, multi-disciplinary team of former NHS and CQC compliance experts, has the skills and experience to guide you to ‘Outstanding’.
We’ll help you build a robust approach, integrating with wider compliance expectations required to provide healthcare-related services in the UK.
The methodical approach and in-depth understanding of data governance enabled us to build a strong, compliant framework—an essential component of CQC standards.
Zlatka Belamaric, CEO
Medical Bravo
Collaborate with us to bring your Mental Health services to patients across the UK.
Collaborate with us to implement robust CQC-aligned governance for distributed teams.
Collaborate with us to inspire confidence and provide assurance of quality care.
Trust us to help you navigate multiple compliance frameworks, removing duplication and burden.
Access free resources in our Blog on CQC compliance and its intersection with other crucial standards and certifications required for doing business in the UK.
International Standards
Cyber Security
Firstly, this depends on the perceived urgency for the services you propose to deliver. For example, if you have an agreement from an NHS Trust to deliver your activities, you have it in writing that you will deliver crucial capacity, and you need CQC registration to deliver it – you will be entitled to fast track application.
Secondly, it depends on how good your application pack is and the current demand on the registration process. Making sure the pack contains everything the CQC need to see, and being able to rapidly answer information requests is crucial.
The CQC initially focus on making sure you can evidence a safe, well-led service. This requires looking at your governance arrangements, policies and procedures and analysing if the right people are running the service. There are plenty of opportunities in the application pack to demonstrate you will meet the regulatory requirements.
Demonstrating robust information governance, cybersecurity and digital clinical safety are crucial for demonstrating your tech platforms are safe to deliver a health service.
Knowing what the CQC are looking for and how to answer the questions is key. This is where hiring a trusted advisor can pay off.
Since 2023, the CQC inspection methodology has been adapting in response to feedback from stakeholders. Having a trusted friend who keeps up to date with the latest guidance can make all the difference. Importantly, being able to demonstrate that your service is safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led has always been a requirement. And the regulations have only received minor additions since their first release. 8fold can help you cut through the noise and get to the key principles of delivering a good service.
The CQC will gather evidence to demonstrate how a service is performing against five key questions. Is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led? They do this by looking for evidence that supports the quality statements, which in turn support the key questions. The type of evidence they can gather is split into six categories:
Not all Quality Statements will need evidence from all six categories. 8fold’s analyse of which evidence categories support which quality statements helps our clients understand how to be prepared.
Importantly, the CQC can request evidence at any time and give any deadline for its return. Ensuring you have good governance arrangements in place is crucial for being able to respond to information requests.
Depending on what service you offer and where your business is based, you may need to be registered with the CQC. Importantly, there are numerous exemptions. Taking time to understand this can save money and time. Importantly, being at a point where you are ready to register is crucial for a successful application. If you’re unsure whether you need to register, or want to know what you need to do to get in a position to register just reach out. We can help.
Firstly providers apply to be regulated without understanding the regualtions. Knowing what falls in scope of the CQC regulated activity is crucial for a successful application.
Secondly, the CQC need assurance that a service is safe and well-led to enable the application to be successful. For this to happen, they need evidence of all of the following:
8fold has produced specific guidance for our clients on all of the above to ensure a 100% first-time application success rate.
The registration process can be broken down into four key stages, each requiring meticulous attention to detail.
First, Pre-Application Preparation is critical. Providers must be fully prepared to operate, with all necessary premises, staff recruitment plans, and policies in place etc, before applying.
Second, Application Submission now involves emailing downloadable forms. It is essential to submit a complete application package, including forms for the provider and any Registered Manager, to avoid rejection and delays.
Third, the CQC Assessment begins once the application is validated. An inspector reviews all documents, may request further information, and schedules necessary site visits and interviews.
Finally, the Fit and Proper Person Assessment includes an interview to confirm the applicant’s suitability. If successful, the CQC issues a Notice of Decision, granting registration to provide services.
Collaborate with 8fold to go beyond the tick-box to install CQC compliance as the foundation of your organisation’s Governance structure – because where there is good governance, there is great business
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