CARE QUALITY COMMISSION

Guidance on qualified first aiders (26th October 2009)
The national minimum standards require first aiders to be available at all times in care homes. But instead the Care Quality Commission allow care homes to be flexible by tailoring the aid to the needs of the people who use the service. A risk assessment which includes:

• the needs of people who use your service
• how likely, it is that first aid will be needed
• what kind of first aid will be required

should be carried out. If a risk assessment is not performed, then first aid must be provided at all times from staff with suitable first aid qualifications.
Guidance

NHS Performance ratings 2008/09 (15th October 2009)
The Care Quality Commission have published the performance ratings, also known as the 'annual health check' for all 392 NHS trusts in England.

Although there have been big improvements for patients, there are concerns that 20 trusts have rated weak on quality and some trusts have rated fair over a number of years without improving.
Press Release
Ratings

Managing patients' medicines after discharge from hospital (27th October 2009)
The Care Quality Commission has published findings from its visits to 12 Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and the survey results of 280 GP practices on how well patients' medication is managed after leaving hospital.

Although there is some evidence of good practice, the following concerns were raised:

• Information shared about patients moving between GPs and hospitals is often patchy, incomplete and not shared quickly enough
• GP patient records are not always updated by clinical staff
• Too few patients are offered discussions with their GP about managing their medication
• GPs are not consistently reporting medication incidents and errors, and PCTs are not always monitoring them

Press Release
Report, self-assessment tool and study reports