What is the Care Quality Commission (CQC)?
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the UK’s independent regulator of health and social care services. It exists to ensure that clinics, hospitals, and other healthcare providers are following all relevant guidelines and meet essential standards of safety, effectiveness, and patient care.
What is Curaleaf Clinic’s CQC rating?
Curaleaf Clinic is proud to set the benchmark for the medical cannabis industry. Following our latest inspection in 2024, we received an overall rating of Good and retained an Outstanding rating in the well-led category – the highest rating of any medical cannabis clinic in the UK. This reflects our dedication to patient safety, clinical excellence, and pioneering research.
CQC oversight is essential for ensuring high standards in medical cannabis care. By choosing a clinic with a strong CQC rating, you can feel confident that you are receiving treatment from a responsible provider.
What does the CQC do?
The CQC inspects healthcare services and rates them based on their ability to provide high-quality care. These ratings help patients make informed decisions about where to receive treatment. Following an inspection, healthcare providers receive one of four ratings:
- Outstanding: The service is performing exceptionally well beyond the required standards.
- Good: The service meets all essential standards and provides high-quality patient care.
- Requires Improvement: The service falls short in some areas and must make changes.
- Inadequate: The service is failing to meet fundamental standards and requires urgent improvements.
To determine these ratings, the CQC assesses five key areas:
- Safe: Are patients protected from harm? Are medicines stored securely?
- Effective: Are treatments based on evidence? Are staff properly trained?
- Caring: Are patients treated with respect and empathy?
- Responsive: Does the clinic meet patient needs effectively? Does the clinic make accessibility allowances?
- Well-Led: Is the clinic managed effectively to ensure continuous improvement?
Each of these categories is rated individually, contributing to the provider’s overall rating.
The role of the CQC in regulating cannabis clinics
Like all private healthcare providers, medical cannabis clinics must be registered with the CQC to operate legally. Without CQC approval, a clinic is not authorised to treat patients.
When inspecting a medical cannabis clinic, the CQC looks at several key areas:
- Patient Safety: Ensuring medicines are stored and dispensed correctly.
- Staff Qualifications and Training: Verifying that doctors and healthcare professionals are qualified and compliant.
- Cleanliness and Infection Control: Making sure the clinic maintains hygiene standards to prevent illness.
- Patient Experience and Communication: Reviewing how well treatment options are explained and how concerns are addressed.
- Governance and Compliance: Ensuring that clinics adhere to all legal and ethical guidelines for prescribing medical cannabis.
How often are medical cannabis clinics inspected?
The frequency of CQC inspections depends on a clinic’s previous rating and level of risk.
Clinics rated Good or Outstanding are typically inspected at least once every five years unless concerns arise.
Those rated Requires Improvement or Inadequate are monitored more closely, with follow-up inspections occurring within months. The CQC also conducts unannounced inspections if there are safety concerns or complaints.
Curaleaf Clinic has been inspected twice by the CQC, once in 2021 (when we were known as Sapphire Clinics) and again in 2024. You can read our latest inspection report here.
The importance of CQC ratings
CQC ratings play a crucial role in healthcare decision-making. They indicate whether a clinic is safe, effective, and well-managed. For medical cannabis patients, choosing a clinic with a high CQC rating ensures that treatment is provided by a reputable and regulated organisation. You can check CQC ratings online to verify a clinic’s credentials before seeking treatment.
At Curaleaf Clinic, we are proud to work with the CQC to keep standards high so we can continue to provide the best possible care for our patients.
Visit our Getting Started page to learn more about Curaleaf Clinic and fill out a free eligibility form to see if an appointment is right for you.
