CQC: State of Health Care and Adult Social Care in England 2015/16

CQC Summary

Demands are increasing on health and social care. State of Care – our annual overview of health and social care in England – looks at the trends, highlights examples of good and outstanding care, and identifies factors that maintain high-quality care.

Most services provide people with good care, but variation exists. Some care services are closing, increasing pressure on other services including GPs and hospitals. Strong leadership and collaboration will be important to ensure services improve and quality is maintained.

Our inspections have found that many health and care services in England are providing good quality care despite a challenging environment, but that substantial variation remains.

Social care sector under pressure

State of Care finds that the sustainability of the adult social care market is approaching a tipping point. This view is based on the evidence of inspections, information received through our market oversight function, and external data.

The fragility of the adult social care market is now beginning to impact both on the people who rely on these services and on the performance of NHS care. The combination of a growing and ageing population, more people with long-term conditions, and a challenging economic climate means greater demand on services and more problems for people in accessing care.

 This is translating to increased A&E attendances, emergency admissions and delays to people leaving hospital, which in turn is affecting the ability of a growing number of trusts to meet their performance and financial targets.

The report State of Care 2015/16 can be downloaded from the CQC website