CQC chair admits registration is ‘cumbersome’
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- Published: Saturday, 17 December 2011 20:13
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| Dame Jo Williams, Chair of the Care Quality Commission, has admitted to the Commons Health Committee that the registration of dentists earlier this year was. She admitted that, as a result, she had asked for a delay for GP registration. |
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David Tredinnick MP: I have a couple of questions on (CQC) registration. The British Dental Association described the process as "shambolic". Do you think that is fair?
Dame Jo Williams: We had a lot of conversations and did a lot of planning with the British Dental Association. They helped us with the processes. It is true to say that we had a single process, which we applied both to health, adult social care, and dentistry. We have recognised it is a cumbersome process-the regulations are cumbersome-and that there is some learning there for us. I know it has been painful.
David Tredinnick: As to this cumbersome process, presumably you are hoping it will be, perhaps, the key issue raised in the Government’s review-is that right-of the registration system? What changes do you think should be made, please?
Dame Jo Williams: Internally, we are reviewing that as well. We obviously need to work with the regulations and we are constrained by the regulations, but if there are things we can do to make that process of application simplified, we are aiming to do that. For instance, it strikes me that, when we fill in a tax application, we are used to saying, "This is not applicable"-one of the things dentists were saying was that particular areas weren’t applicable-making it easier to process in that way.
David Tredinnick: It is not suitable for small practice registrations at the moment, is it, say, for one or two? It is a very cumbersome system for that, isn’t it?
Dame Jo Williams: The regulations, which contain the essential standards, are applied universally to health, social care, dentists and, in the future, primary care. With those regulations, obviously, we need to be proportionate. Some of those regulations will apply less to someone operating as a dentist as opposed to an NHS hospital. Nevertheless, we have had to work within the regulations.
David Tredinnick: I put it to you the situation is, in fact, so bad that it is the reason the registration of doctors is going to be delayed until 2014. What exactly are you going to do with the breathing space that you will be given because of the delay in this other important registration of doctors?
Dame Jo Williams: At the beginning of this year-and again it was a very considered decision, recognising that we did have a backlog of work and were still a relatively new organisation that needed to mature-I went to the Secretary of State and said that I thought it was important we had more time to review our processes before registering general practice, primary care. That has been agreed. We have been working with the Royal College for some considerable time-and we will continue to do so-to ensure that process is more streamlined and appropriate. Next year we will be looking at out-of-hours medical services, so we will be doing that on time.
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