The Care Quality Commission

In order to provide its services St Raphael's is registered with and inspected by the Care Quality Commission (http://www.cqc.org.uk) which is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) aims to encourage improvement across healthcare, puts people first and stands up for their rights, acts quickly to remedy bad practice and gathers knowledge and information about healthcare providers.

The CQC utilises a risk-based approach in its methodology to provide assurance that healthcare providers meet "The Fundamental Standards of Quality and Safety" - below which the care people receive must never fall - and requires St Raphael's to demonstrate its compliance by submitting provider information returns upon request.

St Raphael's has been inspected against the required regulations since 2002 when they were first introduced and an archive of the regulatory assessment reports dating back to 2009 can be found on the CQC's website. St Raphael's received its last site inspection in July 2016. Achieving an overall rating of "GOOD".  The Commission inspects to ensure that the care the Hospice provides is Safe, Caring, Effective and Responsive care and that the Hospice is Well-Led.  The Hospice received an assessment of "GOOD" in every aspect examined.  The Commission observed that, in St Raphael's:

"people felt safe staying on the ward or receiving care and support in their own home from the community team. People were very happy with the service they received from St Raphael's... staff looked after people in  a way which was kind, respectful and compassionate."