Promotional graphics for providers

The promotional rating graphics were developed to enable providers to promote their good or outstanding rating. They are an optional additional product and are not mandatory.

However, there is a legal requirement to display the current quality rating of either: outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate. This is to help people who use services and the public to check the quality and safety of care provided.

Before you use these graphics please read the following guidance and the terms and conditions for providers using promotional graphics.

Who can use these graphics

If you have achieved a CQC rating of either good or outstanding, be proud of this and communicate it!

To promote a rating at either service, location or provider level, you may use the relevant graphics on your website, or appropriately in print.

These graphics must only be used for the specific provider, service or location that they relate to. For example, an NHS trust with a rating of good or outstanding at service or location level cannot use this to imply that it covers the whole trust at overall provider level.

Similarly, if you are a larger corporate care home provider and one of your care homes was rated as good or outstanding, you must make clear that the rating only applies to that particular home/location – not the provider company as a whole. If you are re-inspected and do not receive a good or outstanding rating, you must stop using these graphics.

How to use them effectively online

The ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ ratings graphics must be displayed on an appropriate webpage so that they refer to the correct location or service. You must not use the rating graphics inappropriately, for example if it appears to refer to the overall provider rather than an individual location or service.

If you need advice about using the rating graphics, email webteam@cqc.org.uk.

Linking to CQC’s website

Registered service providers have 2 types of pages on our website: the provider page and location pages.

• The provider page is the page for the organisation that runs the service, such as an NHS hospital trust or a company that runs care homes.
• The location (or 'premises') page is the page for the place where services are delivered. This might be a hospital, a care home or a GP surgery. All the locations that a provider runs are listed on its provider page.

Whatever digital platform you use, people need to be able to click the 'good' or 'outstanding' graphics to link to the appropriate CQC webpage for that specific service or provider. For example, if the rating refers to a specific hospital, it should link to the hospital’s location page. Or if it refers to a whole organisation, it should link to the organisation’s provider page.

Format and size

Use the JPG file format (.jpg) for digital and web-based platforms, including websites and social media sites.

The artwork files should be used as a complete ‘block’ and should not be amended or distorted in any way.

The graphics should be no smaller than 175 x 125 pixels. Please don’t include any ‘rollover’ action.

Printed material

If you use either of the ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ graphics on printed material, you must be aware that your rating can change after an inspection, and it is misleading to display an incorrect rating. To avoid printing a large quantity with an outdated rating, it might be more cost effective to use the ‘Regulated by’ graphic.

Reproduction, format and size

To ensure high-quality print and colour reproduction it’s essential that you download the official artwork from our website. For high-quality lithographic printing, use the encapsulated postscript (.eps) file.

Please do not recreate, manipulate or alter any element of the graphic.

Make sure that you reproduce the graphics at the minimum printed size of 25mm wide.

You must also follow colour breakdowns consistently. Different printing processes and paper stocks will give slightly different results. Always use an up-to-date Pantone colour chip to match these colour specifications as closely as possible. Designers and printers can help with Pantone colours. You can also reproduce the graphics in black and white.

For lithographic print production, use the CMYK breakdowns (C = cyan, M = magenta, Y = yellow, and K = black). For setting the colour on a screen, the RGB colour system (Red, Green, Blue) shows the breakdown for the percentages of red, blue and green. For general office use we suggest you use .jpg format, which will work both on screen (MS Word, PowerPoint) and for printing to office laser or inkjet printers.

Purple (PANTONE 519C)

• C: 67
• M: 100
• Y: 30
• K: 10
   
• R: 109
• G: 39
• B: 106

Green

• C: 76
• M: 21
• Y: 100
• K: 7
   
• R: 69
• G: 143
• B: 0

Promoting further information about CQC

It’s important that people who use your services can understand the importance of your registration with CQC and why we regulate health and adult social care providers.

We encourage all registered providers to promote CQC’s website. If you have an ‘about us’ page on your website, you can include a brief explanation about CQC using the text below. It should finish with the link to our homepage.

“The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care services in England. Its purpose is to work together with the public, systems and providers of care to protect people, and to promote and improve the quality of care. If a service needs to improve, CQC will take action to make sure this happens. Find out more on the CQC website" (www.cqc.org.uk).

We provide leaflets that tell people what to expect from a good health or care service. You can order these from our website and display them in your premises, in welcome packs and in any other appropriate ways.

Download the graphics

For specific requirements and graphics to download for banners see creating promotional banners and boards.

Download the inspected and rated good or outstanding graphics (JPGs)