RCGP/BMA campaign

Making the case for regulation

Campaigning by the GP lobby threatened the future of CQC’s primary care inspection programme. I created a multi-channeled plan to make the case for inspection, working with analysts to identify statistically significant data of news value. This new data identified themes in performance as well as the critical fact that GP surgeries were improving the quality of patient care on re-inspection.

I implemented the strategy, targeting media and parliamentarians as key audiences. The plan was successful, the Health Select Committee’s inquiry on primary care ruling in favour of our inspection programme and disguarding the claims made by the RCGP/BMA.

Daily Mail: 'A third of GP surgeries putting patients at risk'Independent: 'Surgery watchdog not fit for purpose'
A Daily Mail investigation

South West Ambulance NHS 111 Service

The Daily Mail’s investigations editor unveiled a package of evidence about poor standards of care at an NHS 111 service. The service had previously been linked to the death of a child after a call handler failed to identify that the child was seriously ill. The investigation questionned the fitness of the NHS 111 regulatory regime and required a country-wide response on inspections and their results. A series of esposes ran over a series of days. Despite uncertainty around the ownership of these inspections, which crossed two directorates, plans were quickly made about inspections that required scheduling, with chief inspector Prof Sir Mike Richards fronting subsequent broadcast interviews.

CQC Hughes

Integrated Care for older people

Column in The Guardian by David Behan

This thematic review examined how well health and social care services work together and how this affects people’s experiences of care. This is a good example of how I achieved media coverage and  acknowledgement of a product with limited news value. This is a column written for the chief executive that was placed in The Guardian.

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