Healthcare Inspectorate Wales needs ‘strengthening’ – says National Assembly committee

21 March 2014

Healthcare Inspectorate Wales’ (HIW) role as the NHS regulator needs to be strengthened according to a National Assembly committee.

The Health and Social Care Committee believes that HIW - the organisation charged with inspecting Welsh hospitals, GP surgeries, dentists and independent health providers – needs additional support to enable it to fulfill its myriad of responsibilities.

The Committee believes that HIW’s role and purpose is currently not clearly defined largely because its powers come from a range of legislation with different responsibilities stemming from different areas. The Committee concluded that this lack of clarity hinders its attempts to be an authoritative regulator and makes it difficult for the Inspectorate to demonstrate its independence from the Welsh Government in the way other organisations - including the schools inspectorate Estyn -are able to do.

The Committee highlights its concerns regarding the capacity constraints currently facing the Inspectorate that are restricting its ability to deliver across its full range of functions.

The Committee began its inquiry following the findings of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust public inquiry chaired by Robert Francis QC.

“The Committee was looking for assurances that Healthcare Inspectorate Wales was delivering on its responsibilities, and was able to provide the Welsh public with reassurance that standards within the NHS are being met,” said David Rees AM, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee.

“We found an organisation having difficulty defining its purpose and having to manage responsibilities drawn from a confusing jigsaw of legislation.

“We believe this has had an impact upon HIW’s ability to be an authoritative regulator of Wales’s hospitals, GP surgeries, dentists and private healthcare providers.

“Therefore we recommend that a fundamental review of HIW is undertaken with the intention of strengthening the healthcare inspection and regulation regime in Wales.

“This should be done as a matter of urgency and we hope the Welsh Government takes on board our findings.”