Safe · KLOE 7
Safe delivery of treatments and medicines
Are medicines and treatments delivered safely and in a timely way, in line with people’s needs and preferences?
CQC wording, primary care and community services draft V6.0, pages 16 to 18.
Draft, not the current assessment framework
CQC's primary care and community services draft V6.0, published March 2026. The current quality statements remain in use.
CQC draft scope
What this proposed KLOE covers
Scope of this key line of enquiry and topic areas include:
- Prescribing
- IV medicines/fluids/medical gasses
- Storage and disposal of medicines
- Controlled drugs
- Self-medication
- Antimicrobial stewardship
- STOMP/STAMP
- Innovative medicines
How would this apply to your service?
The draft applies one framework across primary care and community services, but useful evidence depends on your service and people.
Source: CQC, Primary care and community services assessment framework, draft V6.0, 19 March 2026, pages 16 to 18. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
CQC draft rating characteristics
How the draft describes each rating
These are CQC's draft characteristics. CQC says rating characteristics guide judgements, they are not a mechanical checklist.
Outstanding
- People and those close to them are active partners in decisions, assessments and reviews about their medicines or treatment, where possible. The service implements creative, person-centred solutions to enable this.
- There is a comprehensive system to proactively promote the safe optimisation of medicines. Staff at all levels are clear about roles and responsibilities in relation to medicines.
- Staff contribute to innovative research on medicines and treatments.
Good
- People and those close to them are partners in decisions about their medicines or treatment, where possible. This information is clearly documented in their records.
- People’s medicines are appropriately prescribed, supplied, monitored, administered and reviewed in line with relevant legislation, current national guidance and best practice. People are supported to self-administer their medicines, where appropriate.
- Medicines are stored safely, including when they are transferred between locations.
- There are clear roles and responsibilities that support the safe optimisation of medicines.
- People’s behaviour is not inappropriately controlled by medicines. Where a person lacks mental capacity to make decisions about their medicines or treatment, formal processes and assessments are undertaken before intervention.
- Accurate, up-to-date information about people’s medicines and treatment is available, particularly when they move between healthcare settings.
- There are appropriate arrangements for the safe management, use and oversight of controlled drugs in line with legislation and best practice.
- Staff understand the importance of regular medicine reviews, audits and clear documentation. The service responds to national patient safety alerts appropriately.
Requires improvement
- People are not always involved in decisions, assessments and reviews about their medicines or treatment, and this is inconsistently documented.
- Staff have a limited understanding on what to do when a person lacks mental capacity concerning their medicines or treatment.
- The service does not always follow relevant national guidelines and legislation around prescribing, supplying and administering medicines, including controlled drugs.
- Staff do not always understand their responsibilities to support the safe optimisation of medicines, including the importance of medicine reviews, audits and good record keeping.
Inadequate
- Staff do not involve people when making decisions, assessments and reviews about their medicines or treatment and these decisions are not properly recorded.
- Staff have poor knowledge on what to do when a person lacks mental capacity concerning their medicines or treatment.
- People are at risk because staff do not prescribe, supply and administer medicines, including controlled drugs, safely. The service does not comply with legislation or follow current national guidance and best practice.
- Staff are not clear about their responsibilities to support the safe optimisation of medicines. There are no medicine reviews or audits to monitor safety performance.
- Record keeping on medicines is poor, particularly when people move between healthcare settings.
Want to know how your service would fare?
Book a mock inspection run against the draft KLOEs, or call 020 8090 5346 to speak to one of our experts.