The Care Quality Commission (CQC) continues to publish Returning to Good inspection reports, providing valuable insight into how practices are performing under the new Single Assessment Framework.
At Harmony CQC, we’ve analysed all 126 focused Returning to Good assessments published between February and June 2026, and the findings provide one of the clearest pictures yet of what inspectors are looking for.
The overall picture is encouraging. 125 of the 126 practices maintained or improved their rating, demonstrating that the vast majority of general practices continue to deliver high-quality care.
However, one practice didn’t.
It slipped from Good to Requires Improvement, reminding us that successful inspections aren’t just about delivering excellent care—they’re about being able to demonstrate it with the right evidence.
We’ll be sharing the full findings during our free webinar, Your August CQC Update: 126 Inspections Decoded – The One Practice That Slipped and Why It Matters to You, on Wednesday 26 August 2026.
What 126 Inspection Reports Tell Us
When we first analysed 53 Returning to Good reports earlier this year, clear themes were emerging. Having now reviewed all 126 reports, those themes have become even more consistent.
Our analysis identified clear patterns in:
- The Quality Statements where practices most commonly receive below-Good scores.
- The evidence inspectors repeatedly ask to review.
- The governance arrangements that distinguish stronger-performing practices.
- The documentation that continues to cause difficulties, even where patient care is strong.
One of the most significant findings was that more than nine out of ten practices that retained a Good rating still had written faults recorded in their inspection reports.
A Good rating doesn’t mean inspectors found nothing to improve—it means practices were able to demonstrate that risks were recognised, managed appropriately and supported by evidence.
Why One Practice Slipped
Out of all 126 reports, only one practice moved from Good to Requires Improvement.
While every inspection is different, the outcome highlights the importance of governance documentation. In this case, two relatively small pieces of documentary evidence—each worth just a single point—played a significant role in the overall result.
Many practices will already have similar documents in place.
The question is whether they’re current, complete and ready to demonstrate compliance when inspectors ask to see them.
What You’ll Learn
During the webinar, Daniel Vincent will talk through what these 126 reports reveal and explain what every practice should be reviewing now.
We’ll also review a real piece of inspection evidence together, helping you assess whether your own documentation is:
- 🟢 Green – inspection ready
- 🟠 Amber – needs strengthening
- 🔴 Red – likely to attract inspector attention
Whether you attended our previous webinars or this is your first Harmony CQC event, you’ll leave with practical actions you can take back to your practice.
Register for Our Free Webinar
Your August CQC Update: 126 Inspections Decoded – The One Practice That Slipped and Why It Matters to You
📅 Wednesday 26 August 2026
🕚 11:00am–12:00pm (BST)
💻 Live Online
🎥 Can’t attend live? Register anyway and we’ll send you the recording.
👉 Register here: [https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/769cf624-8eb4-48b8-9740-cedfa04279d1@a36b0cc9-fa8b-491f-89e8-ff2d6ef813d0]