WHITO GLOSSARY · MEASURED DEFINITIONS
The Care Quality Commission’s overall grade for a health or care service in England: Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement or Inadequate. Always check its date. On the 4 August 2026 file, the median Outstanding rating was 6 years 8 months old.
The number: How old are CQC ratings.
What it means in practice
The mistake is reading Outstanding as outstanding now. Services rated Inadequate are looked at again quickly, and highly rated ones wait longest, so the best ratings tend to be the oldest.
The move is to read the date beside the rating, then the report behind it. A recent bad rating and an old good one are not the same strength of evidence.
Whito stage: Any stage. Read the date first, whether you are choosing care or marketing a care service.
The numbers to hold onto
- The median Good rating was 4.9 years old and the median Inadequate rating 7 months. How old are CQC ratings.
- 14,453 of 32,247 rated services, 44.8%, held a rating published more than five years earlier. How old are CQC ratings.
- 90 of 100 AI home care recommendation slots matched an active CQC-registered service in or near the town. AI home care recommendations vs the CQC register.
Where to go next
Related: GDC register, The register-confirmed share, AI recommendation