Insights
Notes on clinical governance, evidence trails, and what CQC actually looks at.
Written for owners and registered managers of small independent providers. No filler. No SEO-bait. The bones of what an ex-CQC inspector actually saw working and not working inside the regulator.
Article · 2026
CQC local authority assessments: what care providers should learn
CQC assessed councils, not individual providers. But the first national local-authority report gives care providers a useful signal about safeguarding, prevention, unpaid carers, transitions and commissioning evidence.
Read article
Article · 2026
CQC controlled drugs 2025: evidence for providers
CQC's 2025 controlled-drugs report is not only a pharmacy story. What small regulated providers should be able to show for prescribing, storage, communication, discrepancies and oversight.
Read article
Article · 2026
Lone working policy and procedure: what CQC looks for in care
A lone working policy template is a useful start and a poor finish. What a lone working policy and procedure has to do in home and community care, and the controls that show it works rather than describe it.
Read article
Article · 2026
CQC governance documents: what you actually need
A governance document template is a useful start and a poor finish. What Regulation 17 actually asks for, and the living records that evidence it rather than describe it.
Read article
Article · 2026
MRI safety and CQC: the governance evidence inspectors look for
MRI looks like the safe modality, but the magnet is never off. Why this is not an IR(ME)R question, the MHRA safety framework and named roles, and the evidence CQC expects.
Read article
Article · 2026
CQC compliance for domiciliary care: the evidence inspectors expect
Most of the care happens away from the manager, in people's homes. Why a policy folder is not enough, and the connected evidence CQC expects to see across assessment, visits, medicines, safeguarding and governance.
Read article
Article · 2026
Regulation 9 person-centred care: what CQC-ready evidence looks like
One of the easiest CQC standards to agree with and one of the easiest to under-evidence. What person-centred care really tests for, and the records that show it rather than assert it.
Read article
Article · 2026
Regulation 14 nutrition and hydration: what CQC-ready evidence looks like
It can look like a narrow adult social care topic. It is not. Where Regulation 14 applies, what it tests for, and the nutrition and hydration evidence that holds up.
Read article
Article · 2026
Vaccine storage and cold chain compliance: what CQC-ready evidence looks like
It is easy to underestimate because it can look like a fridge check. The cold-chain governance and evidence CQC expects from small services that store or administer vaccines.
Read article
Article · 2026
Fit and Proper Persons under Regulation 5: what directors and nominated individuals miss
Most providers can show recruitment checks for staff. Far fewer can show the same governed thinking for directors, director-equivalent roles and the nominated individual. What CQC is really testing, and the evidence that answers it.
Read article
Last reviewed 30 May 2026