The Care Quality Commission has released its annual State of Care report with a particular focus on pre- and post-Covid care. 

While the 2019/20 report highlights that overall, the quality of care being received is of a good standard, the health and social care regulator highlighted that problems raised in previous years are still persistent across the sector. 

The CQC commented that digital innovations had been pushed through as a result of Covid-19, with GP “practices moving rapidly to remote consultations”. It added that this can have a negative impact on some, with work being needed to ensure that those without sufficient internet access are not left behind. 

Key points 

Quality of care before the pandemic 

• The care that people received in 2019/20 was mostly of good quality. 
   
• However, while quality was largely maintained compared with the previous year, there was no improvement overall. 
   
• Before the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, the CQC remained concerned about a number of issues: 
• The poorer quality of care that is harder to plan for. 
• The need for care to be delivered in a more joined-up way. 
• The continued fragility of adult social care provision. 
• The struggles of the poorest services to make any improvement. 
• Significant gaps in access to good quality care, especially mental healthcare. 
• Persistent inequalities in some aspects of care. 

More info >

 
CQC website: State of Care 

Find out more about the CQC in our Structure of the NHS Course.