Skip to main content

COVID-19 News

Read our statements on COVID-19

Throughout the pandemic HIW has been keeping its activity under close review, risk assessing every piece of work to ensure it is appropriate and proportionate given the ongoing pandemic situation.

As we head into what will be a difficult winter period for healthcare services across Wales it is timely to provide an update on our approach and activity over the coming months.

Healthcare Inspectorate Wales to increase routine onsite assurance work from 26th April.

Gillian Baranski, Chief Inspector, Care Inspectorate Wales and Alun Jones, Interim Chief Executive, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales are calling on all staff working in health and social care in Wales to "speak up" about the excellent care that is being provided, but also about care that does not meet the required standard.

HIW is due to undertake assurance work to consider health board arrangements for delivering the COVID-19 vaccination strategy.

HIW has resumed routine work associated with our adapted quality check and inspection activity in the NHS.

HIW has decided to pause all new, routine work associated with our adapted quality check and inspection activity in the NHS from 20 December at least until the end of January 2021, at which time we will review our decision.

Following positive feedback on our adapted approach to assurance and inspection as well as the continued pressures that services face due to the COVID-19 pandemic, HIW Quality Checks will continue into 2021.

Find out more information about how we’ve responded to COVID-19 and our approach to assurance and inspection over the coming months.

We’ve published a COVID-19 position statement, which outlines the actions we’ve taken in response to the pandemic and our approach to the challenges we’re continuing to face. It also sets out how we’ll adapt our work as COVID-19 restrictions change.

On 14 April, we announced a pause on publication of reports from inspections at NHS healthcare settings that took place prior to our decision to pause new routine inspections on 17 March. Our statement from 14 April outlines our reasons for doing so. We have decided that we are now able to begin the publication of completed inspection reports of NHS healthcare settings.

While most of our staff have being working from home to make sure we continue to carry out our role as the inspector and regulator of healthcare services in Wales, a couple of staff members from Healthcare Inspectorate Wales have answered the call to return to the NHS.

Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) and Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) have published a joint statement on advance care planning in Wales.

We have decided with immediate effect to pause the production and publication of reports from inspections at NHS healthcare settings that took place prior to the announcement of our inspection pause.

Do you work with medical ionising radiation equipment? Read our joint response with other UK IRMER regulators to COVID-19.

We have decided to stop our routine inspection and review programme from Tuesday 17 March.

Read about how we intend to progress our work during the COVID-19 outbreak.