Find out what people think of your local NHS trust's maternity services

We asked nearly 19,000 women and people who used NHS maternity services in 2024 about their experience of care.

Nationally, we found some areas of improvement over the past year, particularly regarding access to mental health support.

However, there remain other aspects of maternity care where people report a poorer experience and where analysis indicates a longer term decline in positive feedback.

We will use the survey results to build on our understanding of the risk and quality of services. Trusts, and those who commission services, will use the results to identify and make the changes they need to improve the experience of people who use their services.

Get ready for Share for Better Care Week

Share for Better Care Week is a chance for you to help give people a stronger voice in their care.

The national week of action starts on 24 February 2025 and will highlight how people can transform an everyday moment—whether waiting for the kettle to boil or the bus to arrive—into an opportunity to make a positive impact.

Feedback is crucial for health and social care services. It helps staff identify what's working well and where improvements are needed.

Despite having busy lives, people are willing to spare a few minutes to share their care experiences, especially if they think it will help improve health services.

By helping to support the campaign, you can raise awareness about the importance of feedback and the difference it makes and help more people to share for better care.

Join our briefing call on 21 January to find out how you can help. You can also read a blog by Chris Dzikiti, our interim Chief Inspector of Healthcare, and Jacob Lant, Chief Executive of National Voices, about the importance of sharing experiences of care, especially for people experiencing health inequalities.

Join us! Work for CQC

CQC staff have a wide range of skills and work across many disciplines.

Find out about roles within CQC, Healthwatch England and the Office of the National Guardian.

Current vacancies include:

Benefits include generous leave entitlement, NHS or Nest pension schemes and a wide range of employee discounts.

Most roles offer flexible locations with the choice to be home-based. See the individual job listings for more information.

Testing a framework to help integrated care systems reduce inequalities

Earlier this year, we announced a project with National Voices and the Point of Care Foundation to develop new tools to reduce health inequalities.

The draft improvement framework we developed is designed to help integrated care systems (ICSs) understand how well their engagement is helping to reduce health inequalities.

We have now finished testing the draft framework with 4 ICS: Black Country ICS, Gloucestershire ICS, Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICS, and Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICS.

Each ICS provided detailed feedback on the usability, relevance, and potential impact of the framework. This feedback has been instrumental in shaping the final version, due for launch at a virtual event in February 2025. For questions or more information about the launch event, email icshealthinequalities@cqc.org.uk.

This work is being funded with a grant from the Regulators’ Pioneer Fund. The fund is currently being delivered by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

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