Baroness Young of Old Scone, the chairman of the CQC, told Pulse magazine: “In any regulated service, there will always be a few folk who are not up to it. There will always be a few who are mad, bad and dangerous to know, but I hope that will be a minority.
“We’ll be able to spot risk with greater accuracy and work with those poor providers to help them improve. Or if they won’t – if they’re really providing very poor services – we’ll take regulatory action and enforcement.”
However patients’ groups fear the new watchdog will not use all of its sanctions.
They also say the public will not have confidence in the CQC as its chief executive, Cynthia Powers, is linked to the scandal at Mid Staffordshire hospitals trust where as many as 1,200 patients are feared to have died needlessly because of “appalling standards of care”.
She was previously chief executive of the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority, which was responsible for checking standards at the hospital.
Joyce Robins, Co-Director of Patient Concern, claimed the launch of the CQC “looks like an April Fool joke”.
She said: “The Commission’s credibility is undermined from the start. How is the public supposed to believe that she can deliver quality care on a national basis?
“The Commission has been given substantial new powers but Baroness Young has already announced that she does not wish to use them, preferring to rely on persuasion and exhortation. Cosy idea.
“Surely it is time to stop wishing and hoping and take firm action?”