CQC partners with Microsoft to transform the way they regulate health & social care

A mission to ensure high-quality care

“Our purpose is to ensure that everyone receives safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care,” explains Mark Sutton, Chief Digital Officer at CQC. “As an organisation, we have an ambitious strategy to transform the way we regulate… we want to become a smarter regulator with technology, data and insights at the core of how we work.” 
 

As part of achieving its transformation objectives, CQC turned to Microsoft, deploying a powerful combination of Power Apps, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service and a Microsoft Azure data platform. Mark Sutton says, “The beauty of using Microsoft solutions across all our core office tools – including our regulation and data and insights capability – is the power of the interoperability of this technology. By taking this approach, we can create change at pace and create something that is greater than the sum of its parts.”
 

Streamlining tools for greater effectiveness

The combination of Microsoft tools to deploy a Microsoft Intelligent Data Platform will enable the CQC team to focus on driving improvements for the providers it assesses and for the public it serves.  

"It allows us to scale down the number of different tools that we're using in isolation and bring them together in one place,” explains Keith Mahon, Hospitals Inspector for the Care Quality Commission. 

"So we're freed up from some of the complex and time-consuming administration that we've been doing. We’re now able to spend more time with providers, helping them to improve. We'll also be able to use our data and insight to focus on specific areas, which will be reflected in up-to-date ratings for the public. "

Faster and more agile – for a higher standard of care

Production of insight reports, such as Infection Prevention Control reports, which are available on the CQC website, has been lengthy. Now, with its smarter technology tools, CQC is more agile. As well as being able to respond to incidents or issues faster, the time taken to produce such reports has reduced.  

Sathya Poduri, Head of Strategy, Architecture, Data & Digital Delivery (CTO) at CQC, says, “Where we see a real benefit is with insight reports that used to take 3 to 4 days to produce. They now take a matter of hours.”  

Further, CQC’s use of Power Apps will enable greater agility in responding to the need for regulation, where care is poor. As the health and social care sector continues to evolve, and if government requires information or legislation changes, CQC will now be in a better position to be more responsive. Sathya Poduri says, “With Power Apps, we create great applications that are low code and low maintenance and quick to deploy.” 

Ultimately, Mark Sutton explains, “That means we can help providers to respond more quickly – driving up the standards of care. It’s very exciting.”