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| Reaction to Barbara Young resigning as chairman of the Care Quality Commission |
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Caring Times, February 2010
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There has been a mixed reaction to the news of Baroness Barbara Young, chairman of the Chairman of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), resigning from the position.
A statement on the CQC's website said that Baroness Young informed the CQC Board and the Secretary of State for Health of her decision to stand down in late November.
The commission was heavily criticised in the 'Hospital Guide 2009' which found 12 hospital trusts in England were 'significantly underperforming' - nine of the 12 had been rated as 'good' or 'excellent' by the CQC. The guide was published by Dr Foster Intelligence.
The guide also claimed that 5,024 patients admitted to hospital with 'low risk conditions' died in the last year.
An emergency taskforce was sent in to Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on the day Baroness Young informed Health Secretary Andy Burnham of her departure.
*Forward*
Lady Young said: 'Having overseen the major task of creating a single regulator for health and social care and pointed it in the right direction, I have decided that it will be for others to take it forward. I wish all success to the Commission and its staff and to Dame Jo Williams who has agreed to act as Chairman until a successor is appointed. Jo will start to take up the reins in January.'
Cynthia Bower, chief executive of CQC, said: 'Barbara joined CQC in May 2008 and her strong leadership has seen us successfully through the transition from three predecessor organisations. She has put CQC on the map as the regulator of health and social care and will be a tough act to follow. We wish her all the best in the next stage of her career.'
Jo Williams, deputy chair of CQC, said: 'CQC's board were sad to hear that Barbara has decided to move on, both on a professional and personal level. Barbara has played a major role in forging CQC's strategy for the next five years. The Board is fully signed up to take this strategy forward and our focus now is building on the momentum we have and delivering our important work on registration.'
Health Minister Andy Burnham praised Baroness Young for putting the regulator on a 'clear path for the future'.
Andrew Lansley, shadow health secretary, was, unsurprisingly, deeply critical of the decision: 'I am surprised that Barbara Young has decided to leave the CQC at this stage. It will leave a vacuum of leadership at the Commission, which will need to be filled following the general election. I am clear that significant changes in the inspection and enforcement regime of the CQC are required.'
Martin Green, Chief Executive of the English Community Care Association hoped that Lady Young's decision would not have a knock-on effect for the decisiveness of the regulator: 'ECCA members have been saddened and disappointed by the resignation of the CQC Chairman Baroness Young. What the sector needs is a period of stability in the regulatory system and we believed that Lady Young had the vision and gravitas to ensure that the new commission established itself as a reputable regulator.
'In light of her resignation we are concerned that Local Authorities will increasingly try to establish monitoring and regulation units as a mechanism to justify low fee settlements. At a time of severe resource constraints, CQC must act boldly to ensure this does not happen and we hope the departure of Lady Young will not have weakened their capacity to act decisively.'
National Care Association Chairman, Nadra Ahmed OBE, said: 'Under the leadership of Barbara Young the establishment of the new Super Regulator, the Care Quality Commission, was swift, showing great promise and demonstrating strong leadership.
'This announcement highlights the endemic problem of the constant changing of regulators without any real progress being made.
'We believe this is a key moment for the Care Quality Commission. The National Care Association believes that a line must now be drawn, and that the Commission will have to move immediately to work with all stakeholders to re-establish confidence in the critical work that the Commission has to undertake.'
Mrs Ahmed went on to say: 'The sector would welcome an outcome where we have a robust regulatory body with a fair and equitable regime in place. We will be seeking urgent meetings with the Department of Health to discuss whether or not in these new and uncharted circumstances there should be a more phased implementation of the changes scheduled to take place between April and October 2010 to ensure sustainability.'
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