New care commission boss admits: 'We need to do much better...'

‘Our role is to ensure people get good care. We haven't always delivered’

- By Giles Sheldrick Chief Reporter

THE care watchdog has made its first public admission of widespread failings in a victory for campaigners and the Daily Express.

Care Quality Commission boss Sir Julian Hartley said the regulator had let down the families it was set up to serve.

In what amounts to an apology for historical failings, the care chief promised to rebuild shattered public trust in an organisation branded "unfit for purpose".

His extraordinary assessment vindicates campaigners who have long branded the quango toothless and ineffective.

Sir Julian said: "Our role is to ensure services are safe, effective, and compassionate, and the people who rely on these services sometimes at the most challenging times in their lives - get good care.

"In recent years we have not always delivered that role effectively. We need to do much better to be the strong, effective regulator people who use adult social care services need and deserve." Sir Julian, who was appointed to the £285,000-a-year role to clear up a catalogue of disasters, vowed to listen to despairing families of those languishing in failing care homes and hospitals. An unusable IT system has led to a backlog of 5,000 safeguarding issues including "major issues of concern" flagged by care staff and concerned families, while some care homes have not been inspected for years.

It means families, some paying upwards of £1,500 a week, have no idea of the standard of care given to their loved ones.

Latest figures show there are 14,516 registered care homes yet just 13,844 are currently rated meaning 672 homes under CQC jurisdiction are without a rating.