The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published it annual assessment of health care and social care in England.
The report looks at the trends, shares examples of good and outstanding care, and highlights where care needs to improve.
In primary care, the report found that more people are struggling to get appointments to see a GP at the same time as the number of people registered with a GP has increased. In a survey of 1,600 adults who had accessed care in the last year, the 2 services that people had the most difficulty accessing were GP services (59 per cent) and dental services (23 per cent).
From March 2020 to March 2024, the number of patients registered with a GP in England has increased by 5 per cent, from 60 to 63 million. At the sae time, the number of people waiting more than two weeks for a GP practice appointment increased by 18 per cent from 4.2 million in February 2020 to 5 million in March 2024.
When it comes to adult social care, the report found that supply has not always kept pace with demand, and more people are not getting the support they need. In April 2024, waits for care home beds and home-based care made up 45 per cent of delays in discharging people who had been in an acute hospital for 14 days or more.
The demand for adult mental health services is also continuing to grow, while the demand for mental health services for children and young people is growing even more.
The report highlighted a few areas of specific concern, including that too many women are not receiving high-quality maternity care. Of the 131 locations CQC inspected in its national maternity inspection programme, almost half were rated as either requires improvement (36 per cent) or inadequate (12 per cent).
There are also concerns that children and young people are not always able to access services in a timely way, with parents feeling that they are not being listened to.
The report also found that people in Black or Black British ethnic groups are over 3 and a half times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act than people in white ethnic groups.
In response to the report, Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive, NHS Providers, said: “The CQC report echoes what NHS trust leaders tell us. Far too many children wait far too long for vital physical and mental health services.
“Too many young lives are being blighted by delays to accessing care. Trust leaders are deeply concerned about meeting demand for services, including mental health, and the impact long waits for care are having on inequalities among children and young people.
“The CQC is right to raise the alarm about mental health services. Trusts are working hard to provide high-quality mental health services and manage risks to patient safety - but their ability to do so comes against a backdrop of soaring demand, resource pressures and the poor condition of the mental health estate, much of which isn’t fit for purpose.
“A cross-government approach to improving health and wellbeing is vital to protect a whole generation of children and young people at risk of being left behind. The government has pledged to improve mental health provision for young people and ensure that mental health gets the same attention and focus as physical health.
“Today's report highlights that inequitable access to care compromises safety. There’s an urgent need to tackle deep-rooted health and racial inequalities. Trusts are ready to play their part in making sure that everybody gets the right care in the right place at the right time."
Cllr David Fothergill, chair of the Local Government Association's Community Wellbeing Board, said: "This important annual report further evidences the critical challenges facing services which support the health and wellbeing of people across our communities. Rising demand, alongside pressures on the workforce, are having a negative impact on people’s ability to access the support they need to live a good life.
"This reinforces the importance of investing in local government given the role many council services play in promoting and improving population wellbeing.
“In particular, councils’ children’s social care, adult social care and public health services all play a vital role in tackling inequalities, reducing or delaying the onset of higher level needs, or supporting people with such needs to live as independently and well as possible.
“This is why it is imperative the Chancellor acts in next week’s Autumn Budget to provide councils with the financial stability they need to protect the services that are so vital to people and communities.”
