What CQC ratings mean

The four ratings

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates health and adult social care in England. These are its four ratings, in its own words.

Outstanding

The service is performing exceptionally well.

Good

The service is performing well and meeting our expectations.

Requires improvement

The service is not performing as well as it should and we have told the service how it must improve.

Inadequate

The service is performing badly and we’ve taken action against the person or organisation that runs it.

The five questions the CQC asks

As well as an overall rating, the CQC gives a rating for each of these five questions.

Safe

You are protected from abuse and avoidable harm.

Effective

Your care, treatment and support achieves good outcomes, helps you to maintain quality of life and is based on the best available evidence.

Caring

Staff involve and treat you with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

Responsive

Services are organised so that they meet your needs.

Well-led

The leadership, management and governance of the organisation make sure it’s providing high-quality care that’s based around your individual needs, that it encourages learning and innovation, and that it promotes an open and fair culture.

Why some services have no rating

Not every service on the CQC’s register has a rating. The CQC gives these reasons.

No legal power to rate

The CQC says it does not have the legal power to rate some kinds of services, such as dental practices.

Not assessed yet

Some services have registered with the CQC but have not been assessed yet.

Older reports

Some old reports were written before the ratings were introduced.

More than one kind of service

Some providers receive ratings for the different services they deliver but not an overall rating – the CQC’s example is a care home that also provides homecare in the community.

Scores in newer reports

Newer CQC assessment reports give a percentage score as well as a rating, to show whether a service is at the upper or lower end of it.

88 to 100%

Outstanding

63 to 87%

Good

39 to 62%

Requires improvement

38% or lower

Inadequate

How Docorix shows ratings

Each listing shows the rating the CQC has published for that location, the date it was published, and a link to the CQC’s own report. A rating can be several years old – always look at the date. Services in Scotland and Wales are inspected by different regulators that use their own scales, so no CQC rating is shown for them.