Sarah Bennett

Regulatory Assurance & Quality Lead
Regulation of Care Services Award | Certificate in Management Studies

Sarah Bennett is the Regulatory Assurance & Quality Lead at Oxford Psychiatry Group, bringing more than 25 years of regulatory inspection and quality assurance experience across health and social care. She provides independent regulatory oversight and assurance, helping ensure that Oxford Psychiatry Group maintains high standards of quality, safety, governance and regulatory compliance.

Sarah has an extensive background with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and its predecessor regulatory organisations. She worked in inspection from 2000 to 2025 and continues her association with the CQC as a Bank Inspector. Her career has therefore spanned the evolution of health and social care regulation from Birmingham City Council through the National Care Standards Commission and Commission for Social Care Inspection to the modern CQC framework.

Her experience gives her a detailed understanding of how regulated services are assessed, including the importance of effective governance, quality assurance, risk management, patient safety and demonstrating that regulatory standards are embedded in everyday practice rather than simply reflected in policies.

Before moving into regulation, Sarah spent more than a decade in frontline health and social care, including as a Registered Nurse in Learning Disability and as a Home Manager within local authority social services. This combination of clinical, operational and regulatory experience gives her a practical understanding of quality from the perspectives of people using services, healthcare professionals, managers and regulators.

At Oxford Psychiatry Group, Sarah supports the organisation’s commitment to continuous improvement and robust clinical governance by providing an experienced and independent regulatory perspective. Her approach is constructive and improvement-focused, helping the organisation identify potential areas of risk, strengthen systems and maintain a culture in which safe, effective and person-centred care remains central to service development.

Specialist Interests:
CQC Regulation and Regulatory Assurance • Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement • Clinical and Corporate Governance • Risk Management and Patient Safety • Inspection Readiness and Regulatory Compliance • Quality Monitoring and Audit • Service Improvement • Person-Centred Care and Safeguarding