Session spotlight: Compliance and regulation – an update on the CQC framework with Louie Werth & Sue Sheath

Introducing the speakers:

Louie Werth is the Director of Care Research, an independent research group that exclusively supports the social care sector. He has been continually active in supporting care services to navigate the introduction of the CQC’s Single Assessment Framework. Whether it be through presenting his weekly Wednesday Webinar series; developing tools and documentation to help services transition or delivering his #GetCQCReady training days, Louie is there to help care services and their teams #GetCQCReady!

Sue Sheath is Director of Regulation and Quality Improvement at Barchester Healthcare and has been in post since 2014. Her career started out at British Airways in a number of HR and management roles. Sue has also worked in the retail sector, including Vodafone Retail, before moving into the public sector. After working for the Security Industry Authority, she worked at the Care Quality Commission, as Head of Regional Compliance for the Southeast with a team of 100 inspectors, covering 5,000 regulated services.

At last month’s Care Show London, one of the most talked-about sessions explored how care providers can build confidence despite some difficulties around the implementation of the Single Assessment Framework introduced by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) back in November 2023. With the CQC also experiencing organisational reforms in recent months, care providers have seen significant delays in inspections and ambiguity around the future of the organisation, speakers Louie and Sue urged providers to stop waiting for validation and start building confidence in their quality agenda themselves.

“It has to start at home if you like. You have to make sure that you can assure yourselves every single day that you are doing the right thing for the people you care for. […] We all want to know whether CQC think we are ‘Outstanding, ‘Good, ‘Requires Improvement’ or ‘Inadequate’. But we should be able to know some of that for ourselves.”

Both speakers stressed that while regulatory ratings still matter, internal governance, culture, and meaningful feedback are what truly define an outstanding service, especially now. Internal audits, lesson learning, and resident voice were central themes with providers being encouraged to embed their own systems of assurance, and demonstrate responsiveness through actions, not just aspirations.

The so-called ‘CQC drought’ has left many homes in limbo. Some are still rated ‘Requires Improvement’ from years ago, despite significant progress. Others haven’t seen an inspector since pre-pandemic. But rather than view this regulatory vacuum as a threat, the session framed it as an opportunity.

Louie highlighted how his team supports services with independent feedback platforms, including accessible surveys for people with learning disabilities. He emphasised the value of using feedback to “fill the gap” in public perception where long waits for regulatory ratings persist. Sue reiterated this point by explaining how families will look at various online reviews when considering options, which is why it’s so important to display the quality of the care you’re delivering by sharing success stories and new initiatives online. Both speakers reaffirmed that proactive engagement can influence regulatory intelligence.

Key takeaways for providers:

• Own your assurance: Don’t wait for CQC but conduct internal audits, learn from mistakes, and begin improvements
• Feedback is your friend: Run resident, staff, and family surveys to gather real-time insights and evidence
• Tell your story: Use websites, social media, and platforms like carehome.co.uk to share current success stories
• Prepare your people: Train staff and managers on how to handle inspections and speak confidently about their work
• Push positivity: Encourage families to submit positive feedback directly to CQC via their online platforms e.g. Google reviews

As the sector waits for regulatory clarity, this session made one thing certain: great care should still be strived for and showcased, even in the midst of sector uncertainty.

Check out the full session recording here: