On a CQC site visit, inspectors observe care, talk to patients, staff and leaders, and check evidence CQC already holds, and interviews can also happen online. Prepare by naming a lead for each key question and making sure each lead can explain how the service works and show the record that proves it.
What happens on the day
CQC emails to say an assessment is starting and may ask for evidence then. On site, inspectors observe care and how staff interact with people, look at the environment and equipment, and talk with people using the service, with staff and with leaders. Site visits can be unannounced, for example in response to a concern, and CQC aims to give feedback straight after on-site activity.1
Interviews with staff and leaders can happen on site or online.1 The people you will meet are usually an assessor and an inspector, both specialists in your sector. The assessor reviews data and runs off-site work, and the inspector plans and carries out the on-site visit.2
Questions to expect, by key question
| Key question | What you may be asked | What a strong answer shows |
|---|---|---|
| Safe | Tell me about your last incident and what changed afterwards. | The sequence, the learning and the change, from the record |
| Safe | How do you know who has looked at a patient's record? | Role-based access and an access log |
| Effective | How do you take and record consent? | What was explained, when the patient agreed, where it is written |
| Effective | How do you know care follows current guidance? | Guidelines cited in notes, and audits of them |
| Caring | How do you look after someone who is anxious, or does not speak English? | Real examples, and conversations in the patient's own language |
| Responsive | How quickly do patients hear back? | A number, measured, and the threads behind it |
| Responsive | What did you change after a complaint? | The complaint, the response and the change |
| Well-led | How do leaders know how the service is doing? | The reports read each week, and a decision they led to |
| Well-led | How would a member of staff raise a concern? | Staff who can say, without looking it up |
Preparing your team
- Name a lead for each key question. One person who can explain it, show the evidence and say what improved.
- Run short practice conversations. Ten minutes each, with the questions above, asked by someone outside the team. Practise showing, not telling.
- Make every answer findable. For each question, the evidence should be on screen in under a minute. If it takes longer, fix the system, not the script.
- Brief reception and junior staff. Inspectors talk to everyone. Make sure they know how to raise a concern and where to find policies.
- Plan the room. A quiet space for interviews, a screen for showing records, and a named person to fetch anything asked for.
- Capture the feedback. Write down the feedback given at the end of the visit, the same day. It shapes your factual accuracy check later.
- Key question ______ Lead ______
- Our strongest example, with its effect on patients ______
- The number that proves it ______
- Where to show it on screen ______
- One thing we are improving, and how ______
Mistakes to avoid in a CQC interview
- Do not rehearse word-for-word answers. Inspectors notice, and it reads as a closed culture.
- Do not create documents for the visit. Show the ones the service actually uses.
- Do not hide a weakness. Explain what you found and what you are doing about it, because CQC assesses learning and improvement as well.
Questions
Can CQC visit without notice?
Yes. CQC may carry out a site visit without giving notice, for example in response to a specific concern.
Who will interview us?
Usually the assessor and the inspector for your service, both specialists in your sector. Interviews can happen on site or online.
Do we get feedback on the day?
CQC aims to give feedback straight after on-site activity where it can, and feedback after off-site assessment too.
Sources
- 1CQC, 2025How we gather evidenceRead source
- 2CQC, 2025How we manage our relationship with servicesRead source
Written by the wai team from Care Quality Commission guidance, checked on 15 October 2026. This is guidance, not legal advice. CQC does not endorse wai or any software.