Commentary on Sections Quality of Services Section 82 – Warning notice
485.This section makes amendments to the powers of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to issue warning notices to NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts.
486.Warning notices under section 29 of the 2008 Act will no longer be able to be issued to NHS Trusts and NHS foundation trusts (subsection (1)). Instead, where it appears to the CQC that the quality of health care services provided by a trust requires significant improvement, the CQC will be able to highlight these areas in a new form of warning notice. This notice will be given under a new section 29A of the 2008 Act (subsection (3)).
487.The new warning notice will state the reasons for the CQC’s view that significant improvement is needed and require that improvements in the quality of services are delivered within a specified time. If the notice deals with multiple failings, the CQC will be able to specify a different time period for improvement in relation to each failing. The CQC will not prescribe the action that is to be taken to address significant failures in the quality of health care services.
488.At the end of the time period specified in the notice (or, where the notice specifies more than one time period, the latest of the specified periods) the CQC must review whether the requirements specified in the notice have been met. Where the CQC is not satisfied that the requirements have been complied with it must review what, if any, further action to take in respect of the trust. In the case of an NHS foundation trust, the CQC’s review must include use of its power to require Monitor to put the trust into special administration under section 65D(2) of the National Health Service Act 2006.