Just one in six CQC staff think regulator is well managed

The survey, filled in by 1,473 staff in May - a 76 per cent response rate - reveals employees highly rate their line managers and teams.

I’m acutely aware morale has taken a hit

The vast majority said they felt able to ask members of their team for help or advice when needed and agreed their team co-operated to get work done.

But only 14 per cent said they had confidence in decisions made by the executive team and 16 per cent said the CQC as a whole was well managed.

Just 7 per cent said communications between different parts of the CQC were effective.

Fewer than one in five (19 per cent) said they felt secure in their job and the same proportion said they felt able to challenge the way things are done.

The CQC also carries out the annual staff survey for NHS organisations, commenting on any lessons to be learned.

A document sent to staff setting out the results states they are “a possible reflection of the challenges we face”.

The CQC has significantly altered its structure over the past year and has been without a permanent chair since Baroness Young quit in February.

It is also awaiting the results of a Department of Health review of arm’s length bodies expected to affect several organisations.

In a statement to HSJ, CQC chief executive Cynthia Bower said: “The scale of change we have undergone is enormous - I sometimes compare it to getting married, moving house and changing jobs, all at the same time… every week.

“I’m acutely aware morale has taken a hit.”

The CQC will be reviewing how it manages change and communicates with staff.

But Ms Bower said: “We have come a long, long way in a very short time and that is down to the commitment and hard work of our staff.”