A message from Dr Toli Onon, Chief Inspector of Hospitals
I feel honoured to have joined CQC in September and privileged to be part of the crucial work of regulation.
Having spent many years working in the NHS hospitals sector as a Chief Medical Officer and Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, I know that winter has become an increasingly difficult time for those leading and delivering high-quality hospital care to patients. Although there are year-round challenges, this winter the flu outbreak and resident doctors’ strike have exacerbated existing pressures on urgent and emergency care services, which in turn increases the risks to patient safety. We will support efforts to mitigate this risk in any way we can.
Maternity also continues to cause huge concern. While many people who responded to our 2025 maternity survey reported a better experience, far too many women still feel their care could have been better, with people not feeling listened to when they have concerns.
As we move into 2026, I look forward to being part of the collective team effort to rebuilding our approach and becoming a strong, compassionate regulator that supports safe care and acts as a catalyst for improvement in all areas of health and care.
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It’s been a busy and important year for mental health. This year, we have continued to shine a light on the challenges faced by people needing mental health care and support. Our 2025 Community mental health survey, alongside the Monitoring the Mental Health Act and State of Care reports, have provided valuable insights. In addition, our comprehensive inspection programme of community mental health services for working age adults and crisis services is now well underway.
While we’ve achieved a lot this year, there is so much to come in 2026 and I recognise that we have a long way to go to meet the needs of people with mental health issues.
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 Findings from our annual survey of more than 16,750 women who used NHS maternity services in 2025 has shown several areas where people are reporting a better experience – particularly in relation to communication with staff and mental health support.
However, despite this positive trajectory, the survey results also show that for some, issues around access to advice and support, feeling listened to when they had concerns, and being left alone at a time when it worried them continue to have a negative impact.
Women who gave birth between 1 and 28 February 2025 (and January, where trusts did not have a minimum of 300 eligible births in February) were invited to participate.
Our Interim Chief Executive, Dr Arun Chopra, has published a new blog post reflecting on the findings in our State of Care report for 2024/25, and on how the proposed updates to our assessment framework aim to address the pressures facing health and care services.
The post highlights the ongoing challenges across the system – from workforce shortages to the growing demand for community-based care – and sets out how more consistent regulation can help support improvement.
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 CQC is piloting new technology to make inspections more efficient and consistent. We’ve secured over £480,000 from the Government’s Regulators’ Pioneer Fund to explore ambient voice technology (AVT) – artificial intelligence software that captures and transcribes conversations during inspections.
This eight-month project (October 2025 – May 2026) will test whether AVT can reduce administrative tasks, improve evidence gathering, and support our goal of completing 9,000 inspections by September 2026.
The pilot will begin in January 2026, when we’ll work with a select group of providers and inspectors to trial AVT in real inspection settings. This is an important step in rebuilding CQC and reflects our commitment to smarter, more effective regulation.
We will engage with selected providers in the new year.
 We are pleased to announce that the Department of Health and Social Care has recently asked us to continue to lead on the programme of ICETRs.
This work aims to make sure that care and treatment for all autistic people and people with a learning disability who are in long-term segregation has an in-depth review. It will now run until March 2028.
 In a new blog Debbie Westhead, Director of Registration and National Enforcement at CQC, explains the importance of making sure your application is clear, accurate and complete.
The blog covers what we expect from applicants, as well as what you can expect from us.
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