Care Quality Commission
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CARE QUALITY COMMISSION REACTION TO THE NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE REPORT ON HEALTHCARE-ASSOCIATED INFECTIONS

Nigel Ellis, Head of National Assessment and Inspection at the Care Quality Commission said, “The NAO is right to acknowledge improvements in the control of MRSA and C. difficile, which have had such a strong grip on hospitals in this country. This follows a big effort from people right across the NHS – and we are of course pleased that the report recognises the role that independent regulation has played.


“While the NHS as a whole is doing better, there are still individual trusts that have a great deal of room for improvement. So no one should be complacent. Everyone involved has to continue to drive down the rates of healthcare-associated infections – and that includes all infections, not just MRSA and C. difficile.


“We will keep up the pressure and encourage the NHS to stay focussed on improvements. That will include taking swift enforcement action if we find unacceptable performance.”



Notes to editors

The NAO publishes its third report on HCAIs Reducing Healthcare Associated Infections in Hospitals in England, on 12 June 2009.


About the CQC

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the (new) independent regulator of all health and adult social care in England. We inspect all health and adult social care services in England, whether they're provided by the NHS, local authorities, private companies or voluntary organisations. And, we protect the interests of people detained under the Mental Health Act. We make sure that essential common standards of quality are met everywhere care is provided, from hospitals to private care homes, and we work towards their improvement. We promote the rights and interests of people who use services and we have a wide range of enforcement powers to take action on their behalf if services are unacceptably poor.
Our work brings together independent regulation of health, mental health and adult social care (for the first time). Before April 1st 2009, this work was carried out by the Healthcare Commission, the Mental Health Act Commission and the Commission for Social Care Inspection.
Our aim is to make sure better care is provided for everyone, whether that's in hospital, in care homes, in people's own homes, or anywhere else that care is provided.

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