Getting ‘CQC ready’ can feel like one of those phrases that instantly raises people’s stress levels. But in reality, preparing well for CQC is less about perfect paperwork and more about being able to show, clearly and consistently, how you deliver safe, effective, person-centred care.
CQC has changed how it assesses services in the last couple of years, shifting from the old Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOEs) to an assessment framework built around ‘quality statements’ under the familiar five key questions (more on that below).
CQC has also been open that its approach is continuing to evolve as it works through wider improvements, including reviewing this assessment framework and methodology.
So, now is a good time to clear up some the most common misconceptions, plus what CQC is actually trying to understand when it visits your service.
Reality: Being prepared takes consistent effort.
Oh to be able to tick all the inspection boxes in a neat working week. However, that’s not how the CQC roll – they’re looking for evidence of ongoing good practice, so they’ll be after months’ worth of records, audits, reviews and staff involvement.
Think of readiness as everyday practice, not a one-off exam. A culture of quality and safety helps build the evidence CQC looks for naturally.
Reality: CQC is assessing the quality and safety of care. It values evidence that reflects real life, not perfection.
CQC’s framework is designed to make structured judgements using evidence against the five key questions and quality statements, not ‘gotcha’ checks.
Yes, accurate records and up-to-date policies are vital. But inspectors are trained to look at whether your documents match what actually happens day-to-day, not whether they’re beautifully formatted. Generic or auto-generated policies that don’t reflect your context can be a red flag because they don’t demonstrate real systems in action.
Instead, focus on relevant, personalised documentation that genuinely describes your service’s approach — and ensure staff know how to use it.
That doesn’t mean issues won’t be flagged—but clinics often get into trouble less because a problem existed, and more because they didn’t spot it, didn’t respond, or couldn’t show learning.
CQC tends to respond well to:
Reality: Ratings reflect consistent quality and positive culture.
While inspection day matters, what CQC really evaluates is how your service performs over the long term across the five key questions.
A strong well-led culture, good governance, responsiveness to feedback, engagement with people using the service and evidence of continuous improvement will carry far more weight than a spotless but superficial inspection visit.
So make sure you celebrate small improvements and share them; CQC values evidence of learning and development, not just compliance.
The reality: Outcomes matter, but CQC is assessing the whole system around care.
CQC’s five key questions explicitly cover more than clinical quality alone, especially the questions around being responsive and well-led.
As a reminder, here are the five key questions in all their glory:
Are they safe? You are protected from abuse and avoidable harm.
Are they effective? Your care, treatment and support achieves good outcomes, helps you to maintain quality of life and is based on the best available evidence.
Are they caring? Staff involve and treat you with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
Are they responsive to people's needs? Services are organised so that they meet your needs.
Are they 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.
Many inspection ‘surprises’ happen when a clinic focuses heavily on clinical competence but is weaker on the operational building blocks that keep people safe and supported.
Think: accessibility, pathways, communication, consent, information governance, safeguarding, complaints handling, equity of access, leadership oversight – things that don’t always show up in outcomes data but strongly affect people’s experience and safety.
A good way to prepare is to map your evidence to the five key questions. If you can explain, in plain English, how your service is safe/effective/caring/responsive/well-led, with examples, you’re already most of the way there.
The reality: CQC has had well-publicised delays and is working through improvements.
A lot of providers assume inspections and reassessments will happen quickly, but the sector has experienced significant delays in assessing and reassessing providers. CQC has faced scrutiny about their backlog and timeliness, which started in 2020 when inspections were halted due to Covid-19. The backlog that emerged from this period was so significant, it still persists today.
So if your clinic is waiting months for its inspection, there’s a few things you can do in the meantime:
The reality: The approach is changing again.
CQC has been explicit about longer-term changes and plans that include reviewing the assessment framework and methodology, and it has set out a timeline for analysing consultation feedback, then publishing final assessment framework(s) and guidance, before implementation.
The safest future-proof prep you can do at this point is to focus on fundamentals that will matter under any framework. Future-proof CQC readiness looks like:
Rather than thinking ‘what documents do they want?’, instead ask yourself, ‘what do they need to be confident about?’
CQC’s framework is built around whether your service is Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive, and Well-led, assessed through quality statements describing what good looks like
In practical terms, that means inspectors are looking to triangulate three things:
If you can show alignment across those three, inspections feel far less intimidating, because you’re not trying to perform, you’re simply explaining your service clearly.