CQC's new chief inspector of adult social care 'has strong track record'

The Care Quality Commission has appointed Kate Terroni, the current boss of adult social care for Oxfordshire County Council as its new chief inspector for adult social care.

She will start the role in May, taking over from Debbie Westhead who has been interim chief inspector since Andrea Sutcliffe’s departure in December last year.

Ms Terroni, who is a registered social worker, is also co-chair of the ADASS workforce network. She said: "I am delighted to be taking up the role of chief inspector of adult social care for CQC. It is a real privilege to have the opportunity to build on the work of Andrea Sutcliffe; having an unrelenting focus on quality outcomes for individuals through good quality care provision.

“To date I have spent my career within local government as a qualified social worker, running operational teams, commissioning services and finally having the opportunity to serve as director of adult social care at Oxfordshire County Council.

“This is an incredibly important time for adult social care, awaiting the Green paper, while at the same time encouraging the delivery of high quality care in a challenging environment.”

Ms Terroni believes in putting people who use services and their families at the heart of everything and added: “I believe that we can improve outcomes for people through ensuring the availability of good quality care and that we regulate in a way which encourages services to integrate around the individual.”

Andrea Sutcliffe was the CQC’s first chief inspector for adult social care and was awarded a CBE last year for her work in the care sector. She is now chief executive for the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). She was appointed to the CQC back in October 2013.

Ian Trenholm, chief executive at the Care Quality Commission welcomed Kate Terroni as the CQC’s new chief inspector for adult social care and said: “Kate has a strong track record in social care and her passion and commitment to improving outcomes for people is evident throughout her career.

“I also want to take this opportunity to thank Debbie Westhead for continuing to do such a great job in the role on an interim basis.

“I have no doubt that Kate will build on Andrea Sutcliffe's impressive legacy to keep driving up standards in adult social care to make sure each and every person experiences the high quality care they need.”