When the Care Quality Commission (CQC) downgraded Sirona Care and Health from “Good” to “Requires Improvement,” it sent a ripple across the UK health and social care sector. Sirona serves almost a million people across Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire so when an organisation of that size receives a downgrade, it becomes more than a headline.
It becomes a case study.

For providers delivering domiciliary care, supported living, children’s services, extra care, live-in support, patient transport, community care and day services, the message is clear:

Leadership, culture, and governance are now just as important as clinical outcomes and they have a direct impact on contract wins.

At AssuredBID, we help providers understand this evolving landscape, strengthen compliance, and develop competitive tender responses. Sirona’s report offers practical lessons for anyone preparing for inspections or procurement evaluations.

 

What the CQC Found in Sirona care and Why It Should Concern Every Provider

While CQC praised Sirona’s frontline workforce as “dedicated and knowledgeable,” inspectors identified several significant concerns:

• Leadership instability affecting service consistency. 
• Staff feeling unsafe raising concerns. 
• Weak governance and oversight. 
• Insufficient engagement with service users, particularly regarding long waiting lists. 
• Ethnic minority and disabled staff reporting unequal treatment, discriminatory behaviours and higher disciplinary actions. 

These findings resulted in a formal downgrade to “Requires Improvement.”

But here is the bigger picture:

Sirona’s challenges mirror the pressures many providers face – rapid reforms, recruitment gaps, financial constraints, and rising expectations from commissioners.

Even large organisations can stumble when governance, culture, and communication begin to slip.

The full inspection findings are available in the official CQC report on Sirona Care & Health, which highlights the governance and workforce concerns raised during the assessment.

 

The Human Side of Sirona Leadership

Behind regulatory language and rating changes are real people:

• Service users waiting longer than they should. 
• Staff afraid to speak up. 
• Minority and disabled employees facing inequity. 
• Leaders stretched thin, trying to maintain structure during rapid change. 

The CQC highlighted that staff were doing their best but good intentions alone cannot compensate for cultural and governance gaps.

For smaller and mid-sized providers, this is a reminder:

‘Strong care is built on stable teams, fair processes, and leaders who listen.’

These are the same qualities commissioners now look for when awarding contracts.

 

How This Impacts Tendering and Contract Opportunities

Sirona’s downgrade is also a warning sign for tendering.

Commissioners – NHS, local authorities, ICBs and integrated care systems – are placing greater weight on:

• leadership accountability. 
• workforce wellbeing. 
• equality and inclusion. 
• governance systems. 
• risk management. 
• service user engagement. 

This means providers targeting:

• Local authority care frameworks 
• Supported living and extra-care contracts 
• Children’s services 
• Mental health and community contracts 
• Patient transport and day services 

must demonstrate more than compliance. They must show maturity, transparency and cultural stability.

 

Key Areas Commissioners Are Now Scoring More Rigorously

1. Leadership & Governance Stability

Providers must clearly show:

• robust governance structures 
• quality assurance systems 
• transparent decision-making 
• strong risk management 
• regular performance oversight 

Governance is no longer admin, it is a scoring metric.

 

2. Workforce Culture & Equity

Sirona’s EDI findings highlight a sector-wide expectation:

Fairness, inclusion and staff wellbeing influence tender scores.

Commissioners want to see:

• inclusive recruitment 
• anti-discrimination measures 
• equality monitoring 
• whistleblowing awareness 
• fair disciplinary processes 
• staff engagement mechanisms 

 

3. Service User Engagement

Consultation is now a requirement, not a formality.
Providers must show how they:

• gather feedback 
• co-design service improvements 
• close feedback loops 
• address waiting times and concerns 

 

4. Governance Strength = Tender Strength

Sirona’s case demonstrates that:

Even excellent frontline care cannot outweigh weak governance.

For tenders, the lesson is simple:
Governance wins contracts.

To stay competitive, care organisations must enhance their bid readiness from compliance and pricing to storytelling using proven tools like BIDSuite to manage documentation and deadlines efficiently.

Practical Steps Providers Should Take Now

To avoid repeating Sirona’s mistakes, every provider should review:

– Governance systems

Strengthen oversight, risk logs, audit trails, and reporting lines.

– Leadership communication

Be visible, accessible, and responsive.

– Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)

Track workforce data, address disparities, and implement fair processes.

– Whistleblowing culture

Ensure staff feel safe speaking up and show how issues are resolved.

– Service user engagement

Use surveys, forums, co-design and feedback channels to shape improvement.

– Tender-ready documentation

Update:

• governance frameworks 
• service improvement plans 
• leadership bios 
• quality assurance policies 
• complaints & concerns logs 
• risk and audit management systems 
• EDI strategy and workforce metrics 

This ensures readiness for both CQC inspections and tender evaluations.

 

Leadership Challenges Are Learning Opportunities

Sirona’s downgrade is not the end of their story, it is the beginning of their improvement journey. Their leadership team has already started making changes, and that alone offers a powerful message to the sector:

“When leadership improves, care improves.”

For UK health and social care providers, now is the time to strengthen governance, build healthier cultures, and position your organisation as a stable, transparent and trustworthy partner for commissioners.

With the right support and structure, every provider can meet and exceed these expectations. Book a consultation with AssuredBID to assess your readiness.