Routine NHS assurance work resumes

We have resumed work associated with our adapted quality check and inspection activity in the NHS. We had taken the decision to pause such work just prior to Christmas due to the pressure on the NHS services in Wales. We said at the time that we would review our decision on a weekly basis. With a range of indicators showing positive signs with regard to COVID-19-induced pressures and the vaccination programme making excellent progress, we have taken the decision to resume our work.

Since Christmas, we have continued to discharge our functions through our broader assurance work, through our intelligence and concerns functions as well as discussions with healthcare services. The decision to resume means that, in line with our adapted approach we’ve taken during the pandemic, we will again be undertaking routine quality checks on NHS settings. These checks are carried out remotely, but our risk-based approach to planning means that we will carry out physical inspections of settings if we judge that it is required.

We will also continue to publish summaries and reports of our work on our website, as we have throughout the pandemic.